Unforeseen Life: The Accidental Confession
by M i s t y R a i n e
Summary: Bulma, the school nerd, accidentally becomes Vegeta's girlfriend when her love letter ends up in the wrong locker. She soon finds herself falling for him for real only to discover his sudden disappearance! What happens 3 years later? Based on a true story
1. Prologue

**A/N:** I've been thinking for awhile whether or not I should write this story and I wasn't sure how people would respond since there are just so many BV stories out there already. But I hope that this one is somewhat different from the rest. And I just want to clarify that while this story is based on a true story, but it is a very loose adaptation.

Anyway, the prologue is basically setting the scene and to give a brief background story. The introductory story will be set when the main characters are 13/14 years old and the main story will be set when the they are 17/18 years old.

Please enjoy!

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**Prologue**

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**When I was a young girl, my family moved to Tokyo in Japan. My father being the scientist that he was had been transferred there for work. When I took my first breath of the Tokyo air, I could sense the huge contrast from what I was used to. Japan was a lot different from my small European hometown. It was a city of advanced technology, high-rise buildings, and a lot of people. I instantly knew that this was the place where my little adventure of life would begin. **

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"To the new students of 2077, I welcome you all to Tokyo International Junior High." The school's principal, a short blonde woman, paused and adjusted her glasses as the large hall burst into applause.

"At this school, we promise to provide the best curriculum and extra-curricular activities. We also provide a three year compulsory Japanese language course to enable that all students are prepared when they enter their chosen Japanese high school."

As the principal droned on about the school's "superior" program and its staff members, a young blue haired girl sat quietly in the audience and watched intensely. Unlike the other students, her parents were not sitting next to her. They had been too busy with work to attend her junior high orientation day. The girl sighed as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat while adjusting her metal-framed glasses. Her eyes started to wander across the large auditorium when her gaze suddenly stopped at a spiky haired boy sitting next to her. He was scowling at her. The blue-haired girl gulped as she felt his ebony eyes staring intensely at her, as if he was trying to stare into her very soul. _What is he staring at?_ She thought to herself. However, her thoughts were quickly interrupted by a loud echo of applause all around the room and she realized the principal was done with her speech.

"Please feel free to mingle with the other students and get to know your classmates better. As for the parents, there are refreshments at the end of the hall." The short blonde-haired principal beamed proudly at her new students before making her exit from the stage. The audience then started to chatter loudly as students and parents stood up to mix with one another.

The blue-haired girl bit her lip as she slowly looked to her left to find that the boy had now disappeared. _Where did he run off to? Why was he staring at me?_ She suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder and she turned around, coming face-to-face with a raven-haired girl smiling sweetly at her.

"Hi!! My name is ChiChi Mau!! I'm the girl who was sitting a few seats from you and I noticed you were all by yourself!! What's your name?"

The blue-haired girl was slightly caught off-guard by her new acquaintance's almost too bubbly approach, but she soon found herself smiling while adjusting her glasses.

"Hi ChiChi! I'm Bulma. Bulma Briefs. I'm actually uh.. new here. Just moved to Tokyo two weeks ago."

ChiChi nodded happily at her new friend's response. "Me too!! I used to live in Thailand, but my whole family got transferred here because my dad's kind of like this famous martial artist. But anyway, I hope we're in the same class! Show me your timetable!"

Bulma looked down at the blue pamphlet she was holding. "You mean this?"

ChiChi squealed as she took the pamphlet from Bulma's hand and examined it along with her own pink pamphlet. She then squealed once again at her discovery. "Bulma! We're in like 5 classes together!! Isn't that so awesome??"

Bulma smiled and then nodded. She was very grateful that she had managed to find a friend so soon. She did not consider herself to be a very sociable person. She was glad that ChiChi was extremely extrovert because it seemed to have balanced their personalities.

Bulma suddenly frowned when she noticed the previously scowling spiky-haired boy not too far from where she was. Except this time he had his arms crossed, and was smirking at her. He was not too far from where she was standing and was surrounded by a couple of other boys from their new grade. She then noticed that he was rather short compared to the other male students.

"Why does that boy keep staring at me? It's kinda creeping me out."

ChiChi gave her friend a confused looked before following her gaze. She then started giggling. "Oh! You mean, Vegeta? He's a bit weird, eh? Don't worry, he does that to everyone!"

Bulma raised her eyebrow. "He does? Is he your friend or something?"

ChiChi crossed her arms and gave Bulma a smirk. "Hardly! To be quite honest, I don't really know him. He lives down the road from where I moved to and I've only spoken to him once. He's a little mean. But all boys are. But you know what's strange about him? He's _pure_ Japanese! Isn't that just so weird that he's at this school?"

Before Bulma could reply, they heard a loud bell ring across the hall and ChiChi's eyes widened like giant saucers. "That's the school bell!! Oh. My. God. We have just officially started seventh grade!! Bulma!! I'm so excited. I can barely breathe!!"

ChiChi held up her timetable and started studying it. Her face suddenly fell. "Oh sugar! We don't have first period together. What a bummer! I have English and you have Japanese. I'll see you in second period though. I've got to say goodbye to my parents first. I'll see you later in class!!"

Before Bulma could respond, her raven-haired friend had run off quickly and almost out of sight. Letting out a deep sigh, Bulma looked at her timetable to try and figure out where her first class was.

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"Welcome class!! My name is Mr. Yamamoto. Please call me Yamamoto Sensei. I am your assigned Japanese teacher for the next three years. Yoroshiku!!"

Bulma neatly jotted down the information that was on the blackboard when she suddenly sensed someone slump into the seat next to her. She looked up slightly from her notebook and suddenly froze. It was the spiky-haired boy who had glared at her during the orientation assembly. Bulma gulped before dropping her head back down, hoping that the boy had not noticed her.

"Minna-san!! Please turn to the person sitting next to you and give him or her a good look. Because from now, this person will be your conversationalist partner and you will be working with them each time you are in my class. I want you to introduce yourself to each other. Ganbatte!!" The over-enthusiastic teacher beamed at his class as he watched his students slowly begin their chatter.

Bulma's head shot back up and stared at the boy next to her. _He has to be my partner?_ Her facial expression was a mixture of terror and disgust. The boy only smirked back at her.

"Vegeta Ouji."

Those were the only words he muttered. His smirk turned into a frown when she did not respond. Bulma found herself subconsciously re-adjusting her glasses as she was trying to process the situation. She was definitely a stranger when it came to talking to boys, as it did not occur very often. Back at her hometown, she spent most of her time reading, studying, and staying at home in general. She was extremely more sheltered than most children her age and now she found difficulty in communicating with a boy, especially one with a bit of an attitude.

"I.. umm I'm Bulma. Nice to meet you."

Bulma slowly let out a shaky hand, hoping to initiate a handshake but unfortunately for her, Vegeta only stared at her.

Bulma suddenly found herself frowning at him as she pulled back her hand. She felt her anger starting to boil inside her. "Well, you don't have to be so weird and rude!! Since we're stuck being conversationalist partners or whatever, we might as well cooperate!!"

Vegeta suddenly smirked again. "Not so shy anymore, woman? Or should I say, geek."

Bulma felt her cheeks burning when she suddenly felt extremely self conscious. She started glaring at him. It was true that she could not care less about her appearance, and her large round glasses often gave the impression that she did not have much of a life outside of the books, which was a tad close to the truth. _But still, he doesn't have to be so upfront about it!_

As she opened her mouth for her nasty comeback, the door of the classroom suddenly flung open and a tall boy with a scar on the side of his face stepped inside. His slightly flushed cheeks indicated that he had been running very fast. "I'm so sorry I'm late! I had trouble finding the classroom."

Bulma suddenly forgot about her little disagreement with Vegeta when she found herself staring at this new student.

Mr. Yamamoto smiled at the boy and gave him a quick nod. "Don't worry! It's your first day after all! What's your name?"

The boy gave the teacher an apologetic smile. "It's Yamcha. Yamcha Siette."

Mr. Yamamoto looked through his list before exclaiming, "Oh there you are! Welcome to the class!! Please take a seat."

Bulma found herself smiling as her gaze followed Yamcha as he took his seat in the row in front of hers. There was something about him that really grabbed her attention but she could not pinpoint what it exactly was. _So his name is Yamcha.. He's kind of cute. Oh my god. Why am I staring at him. Is this what they call…_ Bulma gulped. _Love at first sight?_

Bulma was too caught up with her little mind debate that she did not notice Vegeta's frown of disapproval when he watched her staring intensely at their new classmate.

"Intrigued with scarface over there?"

_Huh..?_ Bulma's head quickly snapped to her left and a slight crimson colour formed on her cheek. She opened her mouth to respond but found herself at a loss for words. Vegeta crossed his arms and smirked at her.

"Nevermind that. I want you to know that I actually agree with what you said earlier." Vegeta ignored Bulma's confused look and continued on. "Since I'm unfortunate enough to be stuck with you in this class for the duration of this course, let's settle this like civilized people. As much as I don't want to work with you, let's both make this a win-win situation. As long as we're in this classroom together, let's pretend to be friends and work together. I'm sure you're an intelligent young girl, so what do you say?"

He then slowly stuck out his hand, waiting for her response.

Bulma stared as his hand as she thought about what he had said. She suddenly found herself feeling more relaxed and her tension was slowly dissipating. She found herself smiling at him. And then took his hand and gave him a quick shake.

As soon as they settled their deal, he suddenly leaned forward and whispered to her "But outside this class, I don't know you." He then pulled back, his smirk never leaving his face. He watched her gasp as she stared at him with an angered look.

"Vegeta Ouji, you sure are one hell of a meanie, you know that??" She put her hand on her hips as she glared at him, but deep down inside she knew that she was not angry with him. Instead, she enjoyed his presence.

And that was how their friendship began.

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**Back then, I always believed that Vegeta had been a good boy despite his façade. And because of that, I let myself become friends with him despite his mean jokes and name-calling. However, I was a naïve kid back then. His friendship meant a lot more to me than I had realized. But instead of cherishing what we had, I spent the start of junior high being infatuated with Yamcha. But the irony of it was how the events all untwined and formed the road of our twisted fate. **


	2. The Confession Letter

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**Chapter One: The Confession Letter**

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_**1.5 years later..**_

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The sun was slowly creeping upwards as the morning had begun and the rays of light were seeping through the dull blinds of the plain room. Soon after, the clock on the empty table indicated that it was 7:00am and soon the radio began blasting loudly and a fast-speaking Japanese radio announcer could be heard. A groan then followed from the wooden bed as a young blue-haired girl woke from her dreamful slumber. _I was just getting to the good part of that dream. Now I'll never know what happens next! _She bitterly thought to herself as she slammed her alarm off. Yawning and scratching her messy blue hair, she stretched out her arm and her hands wandered around the table next to her bed until she found what she was looking for. She sat up as she put on her large-rimmed metallic glasses she started to shiver, feeling the bitter winter of a typical morning in Tokyo. She climbed out of her bed, the pale pink sheets almost falling to the floor, and she grabbed her school uniform that was lying neatly on a chair. She then walked into the bathroom.

After she had brushed her teeth and changed into her uniform, she started heading to the kitchen, oblivious to the eerie silence of the small apartment as she had become so used its emptiness. Her parents had long left the house for work and she would not be seeing them until after school. Grabbing a muffin from the table, the blue haired girl picked up her back up and started to head out to school.

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Bulma trudged through the busy streets of Tokyo and she shivered as she breathed in the chilly air. The district where her school was had been one of the busiest in Japan. Tall buildings cascaded the streets, including office buildings and shopping malls. People walked from all sorts of directions, ranging from business men in suits and carrying black suitcases, to giggling school girls who sometimes paraded in small groups and almost always had their flashy cell phones in hand. This morning was no different. Bulma felt her breath starting to labor when the very familiar gate appeared in front of her. Standing in front of the gate stood her raven-haired best friend, waving both hands wildly and ignoring the dozens of students pushing past her.

"Bulma!!!!!" her friend screamed before excitedly running towards the blue-haired girl. "I can't believe you're finally going to do it!! I've been excited ever since our phone conversation last night! Are you totally prepared??"

Bulma sighed before giving her friend a nervous smile. "Chich, stop being more excited than I am! It's making me more nervous! And I might pull out last minute."

"You can't do that! I don't care what you say, you've waited for too long! You're gonna give Yamcha that letter today!!" ChiChi exclaimed before being hushed by her friend.

"ChiChi! Not now! People are staring at us" Bulma said as some students gave her a glance, making her feel uncomfortable.

Chichi rolled her eyes before grabbing her friend's arm and dragging her through the gate towards the first building. "So we follow the plan that we discussed last night. I'll keep a watch out at the entrance during the last five minutes of lunch break and you slip it into his locker. Is that cool? Hey are you listening? Bulma? What are you doing?" She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her friend pulling out a stack of paper. Bulma gave her a small smile.

"Thanks Chi! But you know what my motto is. Grades before boys. We've got that Geography quiz first period, remember? Last minute study!" Bulma then started concentrating on her study notes while adjusting her round glasses. Her best friend started shaking her head and crossing her arms.

"I guess some things will never change. Hey, Bulma, can I borrow your Mathematics textbook? I left mine at home."

Bulma nodded as they both started heading towards the locker room. As she stepped in front of her locker, her nerves started to bite her as she though about the confession letter. She let out a heavy sigh as she opened her locker to pour in her heavy textbooks.

"You seem to be having a rough morning, woman."

Bulma turned around and faced a smirking Vegeta. He gave ChiChi a nod of acknowledgement before staring back at his blue-haired classmate. ChiChi only glared at him in response. It was obvious that Vegeta was not on her good books. Bulma noticed that he was in loose black pants and a traditional black Japanese short fighting robe with a black belt made of cloth tied around his waist. The school emblem shone proudly on the side of the robe. It represented membership of the school's kendo club. He probably had kendo practice this morning before class started. Bulma gave him a smile.

"Hi to you too, Vegeta." She pulled out a heavy textbook before closing the locker. "Not exactly a rough day. Just other stuff. Maybe you'll find out about it later."

Her eyes widened when she suddenly saw a flash of white and blue walk past her. _Yamcha.._ she thought to herself, staring at the tall handsome student not far away, clad in the school's basketball uniform, which consisted of the standard blue jersey and white loose shorts. Yamcha was heading towards his locker while talking and laughing with his friends. Bulma found herself completely absorbed by the sight in front of her that she failed to notice the frown on Vegeta's face.

"I'm guessing that your rough day might have something to do with scar-face over there?"

"Huh?" Bulma blinked when she finally realized that she had forgotten about her friend. Her face then turned red from embarrassment. Before she could feel any worse, she adjusted her round glasses and picked up her backpack. "Don't call him scar-face, Vegeta! That's so mean!"

In response, Vegeta smirked and crossed his arms. "I'm only just pointing out an observable fact."

Before she could respond, she felt ChiChi nudging her arm. "Bulma dear, we're gonna be late to class! C'mon! Let's go! We still have stuff to talk about! So goodbye, Vegeta!"

ChiChi then started pulling her towards the exit. Bulma turned her head to give Vegeta an apologetic smile. "I'll see you in second period, Vegeta!" She then turned her head back and quickly exited the room with her best friend.

"Seriously, Bulma, why are you friends with that jerk?" ChiChi asked as they headed towards their first class.

"He's not that bad during class though. You get used to his attitude after awhile."

ChiChi wrinkled her nose. "I live on the same street as him and I don't like him. And he seems to really hate your Yamcha. What is his problem?"

Bulma started to frown. "You mean, you don't know?? The school's kendo club and basketball team have been extremely competitive and each year there's always a big face-off to see who can score the most trophies in the national competitions. And they're both on opposing sides. At least that's my conclusion."

"Or maybe he just likes you."

Bulma stopped on her tracks at her friend's comment. "What?"

ChiChi giggled as she saw Bulma's cheeks begin to redden. "I'm just kidding! You don't have to take me so seriously! Now c'mon! Let's get to class." She then pulled her blue-haired friend's arm and dragged her inside their class.

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"Okay everyone turn to page 281, we will now be doing exercises E and F. Please practice the phrases with the person sitting next to you," the teacher said to the class as he pointed to the textbook.

It was now second period, and Bulma was sitting at her usual spot next to Vegeta. They were both sharing a textbook. Today had been particularly different has Bulma did not have her usual concentration. Instead, she was staring off into space. Well to be more precise, she was staring at a certain someone sitting in front of her. _Yamcha's so dreamy.. I wonder how he's going to respond to my letter.._ Bulma began tapping her pencil lightly against her workbook as she pondered over her questions.

"Baka onna, dame yo!" (Stupid woman, stop it!)

Bulma immediately looked up, all actions had been ceased. She looked up at Vegeta and realized that he must have noticed her distraction. She muttered a soft "sorry" before looking downwards, pretending to be concentrating on her workbook.

"I'm not an idiot, you know. It's obvious that you're not being yourself today. Now are you going to tell me what's going on?" Vegeta starting to frown as he stared intensely at his classmate.

Bulma shook her head in response. "It's really nothing! Well, maybe it's something. But I'm not going to tell you!"

Vegeta crossed his arms. "Fine! But whatever it is, stop getting damn distracted. I don't want my grades to go downhill because of you!"

"It won't! Jeez Vegeta, you're so uptight! I'm fine okay? Look, I can do these questions!"

Vegeta started to smirk. "Just as I thought. You're still the biggest geek I know."

Bulma dropped her mouth open and readjusted her glasses. "I am not! You're just jealous of my intelligence!" And before she realized what she was doing, she poked his side with her pencil. Vegeta was caught off-guard as his body shot up. He began to growl.

"Stupid woman! I'll get you for that!" He then grabbed her workbook and started scrawling "baka onna" on the cover. Bulma squealed as she tried to get the workbook away from him.

"Vegeta and Bulma! What is all this commotion about? Are you doing your tasks?" Mr. Yamamoto's voice was filled with concern as he startled his two students.

Bulma quickly let go of Vegeta's arm that she had been tugging. "Sumimasen!" She then blushed when she realized that Yamcha had turned around from his seat and was staring at her to see what the fuss was all about.

"We're doing the questions now." Vegeta said to his teacher and pulled his textbook closer to himself and his partner.

Nodding with satisfaction, Mr. Yamamoto went back to monitoring his class.

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"Bulma!! Over here!!"

Bulma's thoughts were distracted by her friend's loud voice as she entered the cafeteria. Her friend was waving her arms up in the air, something that she did quite often, and was pointing to the empty seat next to her.

Bulma smiled and walked towards her friend. "Hi ChiChi! What are you having for lunch today?" She then saw her friend's traditional Japanese lunchbox and the food inside were looking as delicious as always, packed neatly in its own little section.

"Just the usual. Mom's bento-lunchbox special. Today, it's chicken karaage with stir-fried udon noodles. And cabbage salad!" ChiChi said proudly. "The portion is way too big for me. Wanna share?"

Bulma smiled at her friend before staring at her own lunchbox. One peanut-butter sandwich and a granny-smith apple. Not exactly something Japanese people would usually eat but the sandwich was something that was easy to make the night before. "Thanks ChiChi! You're the bestest friend I've ever had!"

"Don't mention it. It's what friends are for. I think the extra portion was intended for you anyway! But anyways, let's talk about you and Yamcha. Show me the letter!" ChiChi's eyes had widened with excitement.

Bulma gave her friend a shy smile before pulling out a small pink envelope from her backpack. It was titled "To my crush". She had spent at least one week writing it and re-writing it until she thought it was just perfect. ChiChi squealed in delight as she grabbed the envelope from her friend and examined it.

"Why didn't you put Yamcha's name in your letter?" ChiChi stared curiously at her friend.

Bulma shrugged. "Well, don't you think it's more sweet if I address him as my crush?"

ChiChi thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "You're right! Well anyway, so do you know what time Yamcha usually visits his locker today?"

Bulma nodded. "At the start of second last period. He has gym so he would definitely go to his locker to get his gym gear."

ChiChi gave her a smile of satisfaction and then looked at her watch. "Hey, Bulma. We have to go now! It's almost time!"

Bulma stared at her own watch and her eyes almost bulged out. "You're right! Let's go, Chich!"

The pair quickly packed their lunches and dashed out of the cafeteria.

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_This is it. This is the moment I've been waiting for. For months. Today he gets to know the truth. How will he respond? Will he accept me? Well, I'll never know unless I do this._

Bulma was staring at one of the dozens of identical lockers in the room. She quickly glanced at the corridor to see ChiChi give her the thumbs up to signal that there was noone heading inside. Bulma took a deep breath as she held out her letter. She gave it one last look and she suddenly froze. _Is it really okay to do this? I mean, Yamcha doesn't even know me! What if he thinks I'm weird and it backfires! Then what would I do?_

Her mind started racing but before her thoughts continued, ChiChi suddenly ran towards her.

"Bulma! Someone's coming through the door! Hurry up! Just stick it in! We gotta get going!"

And before Bulma could properly make her decision, she quickly put the envelope through the locker in front of her out of panic. She then grabbed ChiChi's arm and they both dashed away.

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Bulma found herself daydreaming once again during her science class, which she shared with ChiChi. Soon, the loud school bell began to ring and it instantly interrupted her thoughts. Bulma started to feel the nervous butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she realized second last period had just finished. And just about now Yamcha would have done absorbing the contents of her letter.

"Crap, I left my homework for the next class in my locker. I'm sorry! I'll be real quick! I'll be back soon, wait for me down the hall!" ChiChi barely finished her sentence before sprinting out of the classroom.

Bulma felt even more nervous now that her friend was gone. She started packing her books, noticing that her hands were slightly shaking. She started walking out the door and down the hall, which was close to the locker room, where she had planned to meet ChiChi when she suddenly saw him. Her heart started to pound. _Okay, breathe in. Breathe out. I'm fine. I can handle this._ She thought to herself as she gazed at Yamcha not too far ahead, talking and laughing with a blue-haired girl. She recognized the girl as Marron, one of the popular girls from her grade, who she often saw parading around the school with her perfect appearance and a string of followers. But this time, Marron was alone. With Yamcha.

Bulma could not help herself from noticing Marron's flawless appearance. Her long blue-hair was always shiny and sat perfectly on her back and shoulders, no knots or kinks could be seen. Bulma started to feel slightly uneasy when she noticed her own dull blue-hair, as she felt the greasiness and untidiness of her own messy ponytail.

The next thing she noticed was Marron's neatly ironed uniform, looking sparkly and clean, complete with her radiant white knee high socks and shiny black shoes. Bulma's eyes then moved downwards to her own tattered shoes, off-white socks, and crinkly skirt. She started to feel an awful feeling inside, and she suddenly had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach. Bulma took a step forward but then stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Yamcha lean forward and give Marron a peck on the cheek. Marron smiled at him, whispered something in his ear and gave him a wink before walking out. And by that time, any remaining confidence of approaching Yamcha had suddenly washed down the drain. _But they're not even going out! The whole school would know if they were. Is this just downright flirting? _

The daunting feeling crept slowly towards her. And it hit her hard. A feeling of defeat overtook Bulma when she realized that she could not compete with Marron's perfection. He was acting as if her letter never even existed. But of course he would. He was Yamcha, one of the star basketball players at her school, and she was just someone who studied a lot and had the social skills of a monkey. How could she approach him? Wouldn't he just run away at one sight of her? Yes, by now, the epiphany had slapped her across the face hard. She realized that she had been living a pipe dream. Where did she even get the idea that she should confess to him? Just to be rejected? How humiliating did that turn out? After all, she barely knew him. They weren't even friends. He was just someone who she shared a few classes with. Someone she decided to like the first time she laid eyes on him. Other than that, she hardly knew him. She only had a crush on him. And that was all it was. _A big stupid crush._

Bulma felt her tears starting to threaten to fall as she watched Yamcha walk out of the hall. She then turned around only to smack into a familiar person. Bulma blinked as she stared at the person in front of her. He was scowling at her.

"Woman, we need to talk!" Vegeta said in a demanding voice as his continued to glare at her.

Bulma only started to sniff as she tried to control her emotions. "Not now, Vegeta. I'm not in the mood." She was about to walk away when he suddenly grabbed her arm.

He then held a pink envelope in front of her face. "What the hell is this?"

Bulma gasped. _My confession letter.._

"Vegeta! That.. That's my-"

"I found it in my locker." Vegeta looked at her intensely as he continued. "Woman, I just don't understand. What were you thinking?"

Bulma stared at Vegeta with a look of fear. _Could I possibly have.. No I couldn't. How could I have gotten their lockers mixed up!_ Her mind was screaming at her when she realized that he must have thought it was written for him. She had barely escaped humiliation earlier when she thought Yamcha had read her letter. And now this. This was getting too much. She felt her heart almost skipping a beat. She wasn't emotionally prepared for this. She started to wince when she felt his stare growing more icy. She wanted to disappear from the building. How could she ever face her friend again. She did not want to lose their friendship.

"Look, I.. uh.." She stopped herself and gasped when he suddenly leaned close towards her face. His glare then turned into a smirk.

"Watashi mo. Suki da. Baka Onna." (I also like you, silly woman.)

Bulma's mouth dropped open as she stared at him. She had not expected this. _Oh my god. What am I doing just standing here and not trying to explain to him? I'm a horrible person! I have to tell him the truth! But how??_

"Vegeta, look, I.. well... you see…" Bulma tried to explain but the words would not come out. Her body would not let her. She felt like a statue, completely in shock. She could barely move. She had not expected this. She gulped when his face started moving towards her ear.

"Save it. Whatever that needs to be said can be done after school. You're turning as red as a tomato. That complexion doesn't go well with your hair colour." Vegeta chucked as she flashed him an angry look. "You're going to be late for class, woman. I'll meet you here after school." And without saying anymore, Vegeta brushed past her and made his exit.

Bulma did not budge from her spot as she had to stop herself from shaking. She had no idea how to act towards him. _What is going on? Does this make us a couple now? Just like that? We became a couple by accident._

Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted abruptly.

"Bulma!! Sorry it took so long! You wouldn't believe what happened! My combination didn't work, and then I had to ask the janitor-" ChiChi stopped mid-sentence when she saw her friend's pale expression. "Oh crap! Did Yamcha leave for class already? Sorry Bulma!"

Bulma was breathing heavily, trying her hardest to control her emotions. She then turned to ChiChi and gave her a weak smile. "It's okay, I.. I decided that I don't like him anymore. It would never have worked out anyway."

ChiChi kept staring at her, clearly she did not have a clue what was going on or what to say. "Bulma? Did he read the letter? What did he say? Is everything okay?"

"It's okay, ChiChi. Everything is fine. I better head to class before I'm really late. I'll call you later and explain, I promise!" Bulma then turned around and walked the other direction. Her mind was full of thoughts and her heart was drenched with emotions. She wanted to disappear from school and hide herself from the public in the comfort of her home, but she had no choice but to bear through the rest of the day pretending to be fine.

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"It's raining so hard!" Bulma exclaimed and then pouted, staring at the outside from the entrance of the building. School was finally finished and she had met up with Vegeta just as he had instructed. It was now pouring so heavily that her vision felt tarnished. She could barely see the school gate.

"Let me guess. You don't have an umbrella?" Vegeta said in his usual arrogant voice before giving her a smirk. Bulma shook her head and sighed, wondering how she was going to get home. A blue umbrella suddenly appeared in front of her eyes and she realized that Vegeta was holding it towards her.

"Take mine." He said in a tone that sounded like an order rather than a polite gesture. Bulma stared at the umbrella and then back at him.

"But what about you?" She asked, with some concern in her voice.

"I have kendo practice now and the gym isn't too far away. The rain should stop by the time I'm done. You can give it back on Monday."

"Well, okay. Thanks then." Bulma took the umbrella from his grasp. "Listen Vegeta, about that letter.. Well.. umm.. How did you react when you read it?"

Vegeta frowned at her question and was silent for a few seconds before finally responding. "I was.. flattered."

"Flattered?" Bulma stared at him in confusion.

"Yes. You could say that that's the first time someone has ever done something like that for me." Vegeta seemed a little uncomfortable with talking about the events of today.

"Oh." Bulma stared at the ground as she was consumed with guilt. She realized that it was getting harder for her to tell him the truth about the letter.

"Practice is about to start. I should get going now then." Vegeta gave her a quick pat on the head before he turned around and started walking away. Bulma could not help feeling a little disappointed that he could not stay for just a little longer.

To her surprise, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned around. "Your cell phone number is still the same right?" he asked. Bulma nodded. He smirked. "Good then." He then turned around again and sprinted off into the rain, slowly disappearing from her sight.

Bulma looked at the blue umbrella that she was holding, still trying to process what had happened that day. The day had started with her thinking that she had slipped her confession letter into Yamcha's locker and it ended with her and Vegeta becoming a couple. _How could this even be possible?_ Bulma started to laugh at the irony of her life. She suddenly found herself in this big mess and it was now up to her to fix it.

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**A/N:** What do you think of it so far? Please leave your review and tell me your thoughts whether it's good or bad! I currently have chapter two sitting on my computer that is complete and needs to be polished before I post it up. I will post it in a couple of days.


	3. Real Feelings

**A/N:** I managed to polish this chapter fairly quickly so this is a very quick update! I would like to thank the following people: Crazedchocolatefan, Cilvanti, and rei10588

Thank you guys so much for taking the time to review my story! As a writer, I feel that it's extremely important to get some feedback and I'm really glad that you guys like it.

So here's chapter two! I dedicate it you three!

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**Chapter Two: Real Feelings**

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Bulma sat on her desk and turned the pages of her mathematics textbook. While most of the other students were relaxing on a Friday night, she was starting on her weekend homework. It was 8pm at night and she had finished the usual quiet dinner with her parents. They were now resting in their rooms and she was in hers. She had gotten out of her uniform and was changed into something more comfortable, her pajamas. She tapped some numbers onto her calculator, trying to solve the question, but tonight she had trouble concentrating on her studies. Instead of her usual daydreams about Yamcha or "prince charming", tonight she was thinking about Vegeta and the earlier events that happened that day. She had called ChiChi as soon as she got home and needless to say, her friend was rather surprised.

"Bulma! You should have been more careful! You know that Vegeta and Yamcha's locker is right next to each other! What are you going to do about the mess you've created?? You can't just string him along! But don't break it to him over the phone either. You should tell him first thing Monday morning!!" She remembered her best friend scolding her. Her friend had always been the mature and responsible one, especially for a 13 year-old.

Bulma glumly stared at her calculator when her cell phone suddenly started ringing, startling her. She checked the call ID and then froze. Vegeta Ouji. _Why is he calling me? What would I say to him? Should I ignore him? No, I can't do that! Argh, if he mentions anything. I'll just have to tell him the truth!_

"Hello?" Bulma tried to sound as calm as possible.

"You sure take a long time to pick up the phone, woman!" an annoyed voice sounded from the other end.

"Hi, Vegeta. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I wanted to distract you from your homework."

Bulma's mouth dropped open. "How did you-?"

"What else would you be doing? Any idiot could have guessed that."

"Hey! Watch it! Do you always have to point out the fact that I'm a nerd? Just because I wear glasses and like to study doesn't mean-"

"Relax, woman! I never said there was something wrong with that."

"Oh.." Bulma started to feel her cheeks burning up.

"Since when did you start caring about what others thought?"

Bulma grew silent. She was not sure how to answer the question herself. There was something that had been bugging her at the back of her mind all day and she was not sure how to approach the topic. She didn't want to be too straight forward but she was dying to know the answer to her question.

"Vegeta. Why do you like me?" The words just came out of her mouth before she realized what she was asking. There was silence on the other end. It was obvious to her that she made the situation very awkward.

After a minute of silence, Vegeta finally responded. "I don't know, to be quite frank. You're just you. A dreamer but also a hard worker. I.. admire that."

Once again, Bulma was silent, unsure how to respond to that. "I don't know what to say.."

"Then you don't have to say anything. Why don't we talk about something else then?" There was a pause. And suddenly the tone of his voice changed into something less serious. "Did you see that note someone stuck on Mr Yamamoto's back during class today?"

Bulma giggled. She suddenly felt at ease and she felt more comfortable. "Of course I saw that! It read 'I am a baka', I wonder which baka wrote that one!"

"Are you pointing your fingers at me??"

"Maybe."

"Calling me a baka now, woman? Who had to ask me simple verb questions today during class?"

"Hey! Just 'cause I wasn't paying any attention. But doesn't that make you a hypocrite for calling me a nerd!"

"Hmm.. I guess that does make me one, doesn't it?"

"Yes, indeed! You hippo!!"

Bulma couldn't help but giggle as she continued her phone conversation. She found herself very intrigued by everything that Vegeta had to say. That night, their conversation turned out to be one of the longest conversations she ever had.

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"Thank god you're finally here!" ChiChi said when she saw her blue-haired friend running towards the school gate. "What have you been doing all weekend? Your phone was always engaged! Were you trying to boycott your phone company by taking advantage of your free minutes? Trust me, I tried doing that too and it's not going to work."

Bulma shook her head. "I was just talking to Vegeta on the phone. Just small talk."

"Small talk that lasted an entire weekend? Did you manage to tell him the truth yet?" Again, Bulma shook her head. "You're going to tell him today aren't you?"

"I suppose…"

"You suppose?? Bulma Briefs, what you're doing is morally wrong! You're going to tell him the truth first thing this morning!"

"Alright Chi!! I will! I'll see him first period anyway. It'll be hard telling him though. But I'll tell him before class, how's that?"

ChiChi crossed her arms. "That's more like it! Good, you should get going now!"

"You're so demanding!"

"Hey, I'm only looking out for what's best for my friend!" ChiChi smiled at Bulma. "I need to get some books before class. Catch you later!" She then dashed off to the locker area.

Bulma frowned as she started walking towards her classroom. _It's not like I don't wanna tell him. But why do I feel like something is holding me back?_ She peaked her head into the classroom. He had not arrived yet. She found that a little odd since he was almost always early. She then walked into the classroom, thinking that he would probably turn up just before the bell rang. She started unpacking her things, getting just a little impatient. She then saw her Japanese teacher, Mr. Yamamoto, walk in. She stared at the clock on the wall to see that class would begin in 5 minutes. She sighed as she took out her workbook and started doodling. She hoped that he would get to class sooner.

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Bulma lied on her bed and stared at her ceiling. Vegeta never showed up to school that day. Nor did he reply the text message she sent him on her cell. In fact, his cell phone had been off the entire day. It was as if he had disappeared off the face of the earth. Bulma pouted as she picked up her cell phone and stared at the screen. She was hoping that they could talk on the phone tonight, but it looked unlikely. _Why am I acting like his girlfriend when we shouldn't even be dating in the first place? What's wrong with me??_ Getting annoyed, Bulma turned off her lights and decided that she would sleep early that night. But the night turned restless and she found herself tossing and turning, finding it difficult to sleep. Eventually, during the early hours, her mind finally drifted into a different world inside her head.

During the next few days, Bulma had once again had prepared herself to tell Vegeta the truth, but every day repeated itself as he never showed up to school. And his cell phone had been off too. By Friday night, she found herself lying on her bed and wanting to cry. What if he transferred schools without telling her? Did she scare him away? What if he was kidnapped on his way to school? Bulma struggled to keep those thoughts from attacking her. But deep down inside, she felt saddened. She couldn't describe this feeling. Was it loneliness? She always thought she knew what loneliness had been, since her parents were constantly too busy to spend time with her. But this was different. She felt as if this was her first taste of an entirely new level of loneliness. _How bitter… _She could not help thinking about his standard smirk and his usually sarcastic voice. He may have always appeared cold on the outside, but she knew that he had a soft side. And the fact that he only showed that side sparingly but at the right time made him even more appealing. _I miss him._

Bulma's eyes suddenly opened wide when a realization hit her and she sat up fast, feeling her heart pound hard against her chest. _What I'm feeling right now.. Could it possibly be..? No way.._

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The following Monday, Bulma dragged herself to school with her head hung low in defeat. She had barely slept that weekend and she was starting to lose all hope of solving the problem of her situation.

"Bulma! Don't give up hope! He'll show up today and you can tell him the truth!" ChiChi seemed cheerful as usual when they walked to their lockers.

"ChiChi, I don't think I can do it anymore. I can't tell him."

Her raven-haired friend looked at her in shock. "What do you mean, you can't tell him?? As much as he annoys me, it's still unreasonable to string him along like that!"

"You don't understand, Chi." Bulma paused briefly before opening her locker. "I think.. I've fallen for him."

"You what?? For real?? But you haven't even seen him in a week!"

Bulma winced as her best friend's voice pierced her ears. "Calm down, ChiChi. Yes, for real. I like him. Maybe all that absence made me realize my feelings. But what does it matter? He has disappeared. I must be cursed or something!"

"You sure like to worry! Everything will be fine!" ChiChi suddenly pretended to look at her watch. "Yes, I'm always right! Looks like I have to get to class! You just take your time, okay? I'll see you in bio."

Before Bulma could even answer, her friend dashed the other direction. _What's with her all of a sudden? _Bulma then closed her locker and suddenly her eyes widened. Her mouth hung open and she gasped.

There he was. Standing right in front of her. His usual smirk was plastered onto his face as he watched her facial expression.

"Did you miss me?"

"Vegeta!" Bulma squealed as she found herself jumping onto him and embraced him tightly, oblivious to the fact that she was in the middle of a hallway where other students were walking past.

"Calm down, woman. You're embarrassing me." Vegeta gently held her back but did not let go of her shoulders.

Bulma started pouting at him. "Where have you been? You didn't even call me!"

"I had been sick all week. I was unlucky enough to get a bad case of food poisoning last Monday morning and my mother took me to the hospital."

Bulma frowned. "You could have called me and told me!"

Vegeta placed his hand on her head, leaning closer to her. "I didn't want you to worry too much, baka."

Bulma felt her cheeks warm up as his face was so close to hers. "Well, at least promise me you'll tell me next time!"

Vegeta chuckled. "There will be no next time. No way am I going through that terrible ordeal ever again!"

"Well, then don't disappear like that ever again!"

"Ok, woman! I promise, happy now?" Vegeta leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

Bulma's eyes widened as she felt his warm lips on her cheek. Her heart started to mellow and her entire body felt warm. This was the first time a boy had ever done that. She started to feel giggly.

Vegeta then whispered into her ears. "By the way, your hair sure needs a wash." Bulma's facial expression suddenly turned into a scowl and then a pout.

"You're such a meanie, Veggie-chan!" She then poked him on the side.

Vegeta looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Veggie-chan? That's absolutely disgusting, woman!"

Bulma stuck her tongue out. "No! From now on, you're Veggie-chan! Okay, Veggie-chan?" She then dashed off, with him following not too far behind. She giggled as he caught up to her and started tickling her. "Stop it!! I'm going to be late for class! Veggie-chan!!"

The laughter of the young girl echoed down the hallway and her happiness was evident to all those who heard her.

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**That was the day that I officially became Vegeta's girlfriend. But there was always that one question that bugged me at the back of my mind, even today. What if Vegeta had never gotten sick for a week? Would I still have fallen for him? Would we have gotten together at all if the accident never occurred? But whether or not it was all fate or just a blunder made by kami, I was extremely grateful that I fell for him. For the next six months, our relationship blossomed as we spent more time with each other and grew closer. However, not all relationships run smoothly. And mine had definitely been a bumpy ride. And that was just an understatement.**

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"He still hasn't kissed you yet? You guys sure are slow!! Bulma, you gotta capture the next chance you get!"

Bulma had to hold her cell phone away from her ears to save her hearing from being disabled by her best friend's loud voice. "Chich!! I want it to be a natural process! I'm not going to force him to do it."

"But Bulma! It's been almost six months! Most couples would have-"

Bulma cut her friend short with a loud gasp. "Chich!! I'm 13 for god's sake! You're so gross!!"

"I'm not gross! You're just immature! If he can't make his move, then you have to! Kiss the damn boy already! Don't you want your first kiss before you finish eighth grade?"

Bulma looked at her watch. "Chich, sorry to say this but I really have to get going. I promised to meet Vegeta in front of the cinema at noon. I'll catch you later okay?"

"Alright, and remember-"

"Yes, yes, I'll see what happens."

"Alright. Have fun, girl. Call me later!"

"Bye Chich." Bulma hung up her phone and stared out the window. She thought about what her best friend had told her. Could today be the day she was going to get her first kiss? She was not exactly completely disappointed with how slow their relationship was going since she enjoyed his company despite the lack of intimacy. But she was still hopeful for the day that she would get her first kiss. Bulma looked at her watch once again before grabbing her bag and heading out of her room. _You better make a move, Vegeta! _

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Bulma took a sip of her frozen cola as her eyes were fixed on the screen ahead of her. She then paused briefly with widened eyes as the hero on the large screen plunged into the water. When he emerged from the surface, she let out a sigh of relief and resumed drinking her cola. Unknown to her, Vegeta had been watching her closely since the movie started and he was amused at how absorbed she was with the film.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself, woman. But don't you find this movie just a little predictable?"

Bulma turned her head and stared at the spiky haired boy next to her. She looked as if she was deep in thought. "Predictable? No way! This movie rocks my socks!"

Vegeta smirked at her response. "Oh c'mon. Don't tell me you can't see the stereotypical pattern here? Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Some drama happens. Boy rescues girl. They ride away towards the sunset together. The end."

Bulma giggled at Vegeta's simple description of the movie. "It's a bit like how life should be, eh?"

Vegeta rolled his eyes. "Your head always seems to be on cloud nine." Suddenly, he leaned forward. "Let me bring you back down to earth." He then gently blew on her hair.

Bulma's eyes widened as she felt him close to her. It made her slightly shiver and her heart started to pound loudly. _Could this be.. the moment?_ Bulma gulped as she felt him inching closer, she felt her cheeks burning up and she suddenly felt her whole body paralysed.

Suddenly they both heard a loud grumble and Vegeta stopped moving forward, frowning at her. "Are you hungry? Did you not eat breakfast or something?"

By this time, Bulma's face was completely flushed and she felt so warm that she thought her glasses was going to steam up. She felt like disappearing now that her stomach had to grumble and kill the moment. She gave him her signature pout. "Sorry, Veggie… I was in a rush and didn't eat breakfast…"

Vegeta glared at her before rolling his eyes. "God, woman. You're such a pain in the ass, you know that?" He then reached into his back pack. "Only an idiot would starve themselves for that long."

Bulma pouted even more as she started to whine. "But Vegeta! I didn't want to be late. You're always so impatient and start saying mean things to me for being even one minute late. I couldn't help it this morning 'cause-" She stopped mid-sentence when she saw a lunchbox produced in front of her. "What's this?"

Vegeta gave her a frustrated look. "My mother's homemade sushi. She always insists I keep food in my bag in case I get hungry. Don't worry, it's fresh from this morning. Just eat it."

Bulma gave him a smile. "Thanks, Veggie! Your mom seems to be really nice. I really wanna meet her one day!"

"Eat it before you start getting too ahead of yourself. And enough of that horrendous nickname!"

Bulma nodded as she took a piece of sushi and stuck it in her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise. "Yummy!!! This is really good sushi!!! I'm so happy!" She squealed but quickly became quiet when she heard angry people behind her telling her to be quiet.

"By the way, Veggie, school's about to finish soon. What do you have planned for the summer holiday?"

Vegeta shrugged. "Probably lots of kendo practice. The nationals are coming up. And yourself?"

"I'm not sure yet. My family might be taking a vacation and visit our hometown. It would be nice to see my relatives again. But I would miss you so much!! Wouldn't you miss me?" Vegeta only smirked at her in response.

"I know you do, whether you admit it or not!" Bulma giggled softly as she continued to feast on the delicious home-cooked goodness in front of her. She then leaned on Vegeta's shoulder and continued to watch the remainder of the movie.

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"I'm gonna miss you so much!!" Bulma had tears running down her cheek as she hugged her best friend. She had just finished her last day of eighth grade and was at home packing her things as she was leaving Tokyo that night to go on the annual vacation to her native European country. Needless to say, she had been disappointed that she did not give Vegeta a proper good bye today due to his kendo practice after class. The national competition was coming up during the long summer holiday and his team had been strict with practice during the few weeks before the competition.

"Why do you have to leave so soon? School only just finished! I'm going to be so bored during the holidays without you!" ChiChi cried as she returned her blue-haired friend's hug. "Don't worry, I'll stay here and help you pack and keep you company until you have to leave for the airport. I hope your parents don't mind me hanging around for so long."

"Thanks Chich! I promise to send you postcards when I get to Europe."

Bulma's cell phone suddenly gave off a loud beep, startling the two. Bulma picked up her phone and pressed a few buttons. She then gasped and looked at ChiChi with widened eyes. "Vegeta just texted me! He said he's in front of my apartment right this minute and he wanted to say goodbye!"

ChiChi began to squeal. "Go down there and talk to him girl! Don't worry. I won't go down with you. You can have your privacy." She gave her friend a wink before pushing her out of her room. "Don't let him wait too long!"

Bulma felt nervous as she headed into the lift. She had not expected him to stop outside her house after kendo practice. He was not really the romantic type. She had expected him to just know she was leaving and she had known that even though he did not say goodbye, she knew he wanted to and she acknowledged that. It had been a mutual understanding. But now that he had showed up, she wondered what he was going to say.

Bulma subconsciously held her breath as she saw the spiky haired boy standing outside when the door of the lift opened. He noticed her presence and gave her a smirk as she slowly walked outside the building. She noticed that he was wearing the usual kendo attire and his wooden kendo sword was wrapped in cloth and hanging from his back.

"You're leaving tonight, aren't you?" Vegeta's smirk turned into a frown when he noticed her eyes were red from all the previous crying. "What's wrong? You're not excited about visiting your relatives?"

Bulma shook her head. "It's not that. It's just… well.." She paused.

"Well what? Just spit it out, woman."

Bulma took in a deep breathe. "Well, I'm just sad because it has been the best school year of my life and it's over already. And I can't even hang out with my two favourite people during the summer holidays."

She then frowned when she suddenly felt a few water droplets fall onto her glasses. She looked at the sky and saw that it had become much darker, grey clouds were now starting to form. It had been a perfectly fine day earlier. "Huh? Why is it raining all of a sudd-" Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a sudden pull as Vegeta grabbed her hand and dragged her inside the apartment.

"You're going to get soaking wet if you walk home from this weather," Bulma said as she took her glasses off and starting wiping it dry with her shirt. She looked up at Vegeta and noticed him staring at her naked eyes. _So beautiful.._ He thought to himself. Before he could speak, Bulma's eyes suddenly brightened. "I have an idea! Wait here!" She quickly put her glasses back on and then dashed off, leaving Vegeta looking confused.

Moments later, she came back down, holding out a pink umbrella. "Here. You can use this!"

Vegeta gave her a look of disgust. "Pink? I have to degrade myself by walking home with this atrocity?"

Bulma pouted at him. "It's my favourite colour, so naturally I'll have a pink one. I'm just trying to be thoughtful here! You'd rather use this than get soaking wet right? You might catch a cold and-" She suddenly felt his strong arms wrapped around her body. He rested his head on her shoulder.

"I'm going to miss you, Bulma." He said softly. Her eyes widened with surprise as she heard him call her by her name, a very rare occurrence. He then let go of her and stared intensely into her eyes. He gently took off her glasses. "Your eyes are beautiful, just like your soul. You don't have to hide behind these all the time." He then leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

Her heart almost skipped a beat when she felt his warm lips on hers. She then closed her eyes, wanting to preserve this moment forever. She could not feel anymore happier. She finally got what she had waited for in such a long time.

But her heart sank as she came back to reality when the kiss ended. He gave her a smirk but she could see that there was some sadness in his eyes. Suddenly, something was placed in her hand and she looked down to see a small pink box with a bow on top.

"Is this for me?" She managed to ask in a whisper.

Vegeta nodded. He then gave her a peck on the forehead. "Good bye, I'll be seeing you when you get back." And before she could respond, he left the building. She saw her pink umbrella vanish in the now heavy rain.

She felt warm tears fall down her cheeks as she watched him go. She then stared the box in her hand. Slowly, she opened the box to find a glimmering silver bracelet inside. It had a silver padlock and was a stunning piece of jewelry. Bulma began to sob as she clenched the bracelet tightly to her chest.

"Veggie-chan…"

She stood alone at the entrance of her apartment for a long five minutes before finally deciding to go back inside.

The long summer vacation had passed slowly for Bulma as she spent each day thinking about her boyfriend and wondering what he was doing back in Japan. She found herself missing him even more than she had expected and she could not wait to return to Tokyo and see him again. Unfortunately for Bulma, only disappointment lied ahead.

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_**3 months later…**_

"I'm so sorry, Bulma" ChiChi whispered as she hugged her best friend. They were both back at school, on the first day of ninth grade when Bulma had received news that Vegeta was no longer enrolled in Tokyo International Junior High. She was told by her homeroom teacher that he had moved to a different city and informed the school of his withdrawal during the holidays. Needless to say, when she received the news, she was absolutely devastated that he moved without telling her or saying goodbye. Nor did he reply to the emails that she had sent him while she was in Europe.

"I'm sure you'll see him again one day. And even if you don't, you'll fall in love again. There are plenty of fish in the sea, especially when we enter high school together next year. Don't give up hope Bulma!!"

Bulma couldn't stop feeling utterly disappointed. She had been so excited about seeing him again she had even counted down each day when she was overseas. And now to come back to find him move to another city without informing her, she could not help wondering how this could have happened. But she was not going to give up just yet as she was a fighter. She wasn't going to settle down until she got to the bottom of this. She gave ChiChi a smile.

"It's okay, I'm sure there's a good explanation for this. And when I do get one, everything will be fine. I'm heading to class now. Let's go!" She then dragged her friend into the building. _I'm going to get to the bottom of this.._

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_**One week later..**_

ChiChi bounced towards Bulma cheerfully while waving a piece of paper in the air. Bulma had been waiting for her friend at the main gate after school when she was informed that something important came up. Before Bulma could speak, ChiChi took out her cell phone and punched a few numbers. She then held her phone out.

"Are you ready for the big moment?" ChiChi asked her.

"What are you talking about? Who are you calling?" Bulma gave her friend a confused look as she received the cell phone.

"It's Vegeta's number! I managed to get his new cell phone number off one of his kendo friends. And I must add, the friend is pretty hot. Now take a deep breath and press the call button!" ChiChi squealed as she gave her friend a wink.

Bulma gasped, as she put the cell phone to her ear. She was not mentally prepared for this. After three months, she could not believe that she was going to talk to him again in a matter of minutes. Her hand started shaking as she nervously stared at the phone. She took a deep breath and pressed the call button. She put the phone to her ear and she stiffened as she heard the ringing. A few seconds later, the call was connected.

"Hello?"

She froze as she heard the familiar voice. She was completely stunned and at loss of words.

"Hello??" The voice grew impatient.

Bulma took a deep breathe to gather her thoughts before speaking. "Vegeta? Hi, it's me Bulma."

There was a long pause on the other end.

"Bulma? How did you get my number?" the voice sounded shocked but demanding.

"Well, from one of your Kendo friends." Bulma paused as she heard her friend whisper a name in the background. "His name is Goku, I think?"

"Damn that Kakarot for having such a loud mouth." The voice muttered softly.

"Vegeta? Can you tell me what's going on? Where are you?"

There was another long pause.

"Does it matter?"

Bulma gasped when she heard how cold his voice. "But Vegeta, you can't just disappear like that. After all, I am your girlfri-" Her sentence was interrupted when he suddenly snapped at her.

"My dad got transferred for work and I wanted to move on with my life too. Is there anything else you want to know?"

Bulma was shocked by his angry words. She suddenly became confused. "But why didn't you tell me?"

"Why should I tell you? Who do you think you are?"

Bulma could feel her eyes starting to water at his crude response. "Vegeta, I don't understand.."

"What's there to understand, woman? Don't you get it? I never liked you in the first place. I only felt sorry for you the day you confessed to me. I played you for a fool. But now I'm sick of you and this game. I'm glad I had to move away so I never have to see your stupid face ever again. Now, if you don't mind. I would prefer it if you didn't call me ever again." And without saying anything else, he hung up the phone.

Words could not describe the emotions that had overcome the blue-haired girl at that moment. She felt as if she had been hit hard by a powerful force._ Is this a dream? It has to be right? A terrible nightmare. Now would be a good time to wake up from it. Please! I want to wake up!_

"Bulma? What exactly did he say?" ChiChi asked with a confused look.

Bulma slowly turned to her friend, her eyes looking hollow as she gave her back the cell phone. She shook her head. "Not now, ChiChi. I think I'm going to go home.."

ChiChi started looking worried. "What's going on? Bulma?" She called out to her friend who started walking away. She then waved the piece of paper in the air. "What about his number?"

Bulma suddenly stopped and turned around. All life seemed to have drained from her face.

"Just throw it in the trash."

ChiChi had never heard her friend speak in such a cold voice ever. Before she could respond, Bulma turned around once again and started walking home.

For the rest of the journey, Bulma continued walking with no facial expression whatsoever displayed on her face. She even ignored the rain that started pouring half way through the journey. It completely drenched her by the time she got home, but she did not care. She welcomed it. After all, nothing could be worse than how she was feeling at this moment.

When she reached her apartment, she went straight into her room, closing the door behind her. At that moment, she collapsed onto the floor. Reality had hit her at full force and she could no longer hold back any longer. The tears had streamed down her face and she clenched her chest tightly. This feeling that had overcome her was torturing her. She felt her heart being stabbed over and over again, and she could feel the overwhelming pain as she felt her organs bleeding inside her. And soon, she started wailing loudly as she draped over the floor, pounding her fists hard against it.

For the next few hours, she could not stop crying. She started to feel numb by all the emotions that had rushed through her.

Eventually, Bulma fell asleep on her bed as she drifted into another world. But her world had changed. She no longer dreamed of princes and fairytales. Instead, she was swallowed into a world of utter darkness. She was now completely alone. And there was noone to save her. Only herself.

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**That day was definitely one of the worse days of my life and it left behind a scar that was embedded so deep inside my heart that I can still feel it today.**

**I had fallen in love. Although I got burnt so badly by Vegeta, I never stopped cherishing all of our moments together. I never believed the last words he said to me during that time. For the long period that I spent with him before that, I could feel his feelings flowing towards me. I knew that it was impossible for him to not have felt anything at all. I used that knowledge to stop myself from believing his last cruel words. And I guess that's how I survived it. **

**I had continued on living my life, thinking that our precious story had come to an end. I could not have been any more wrong. It had only just begun.**

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**A/N:** Before anyone starts booing at me, I want to say that this story isn't finished yet! In fact, it has just gotten started! So I'm in the process of writing the next chapter. Since I'm actually on vacation right now, it might take awhile to finish but hopefully I can get it up by next week.

Please tell me what you think of it so far by writing me a review begs on knees. It would mean so much to me!! I promise that it'll make me write the next chapter faster!!

Coming up next chapter: The story continues three years afterwards. You will learn how Bulma has coped with her loss. Expect a dramatic transformation!


	4. Reminisce

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Sorry this is a bit late! But I did promise to get it out by a week's time! So I guess I made the deadline

So I want to start off by saying a big THANK YOU for those who reviewed the last chapter: Cilvanti, Dbz maineak, Crazedchocolatefan, Jake Newmon, Morgain Croix, bribe91, gotensgurl97, JeMS7, Darkangl28, and Regin.

You guys are the best!!! Thank you so much!!

Now before you continue reading the new chapter, I just want to point a few things out. Firstly, the setting is a little different from the previous chapters. I have made a notable effort to make it more science fiction, purely because of the year that this fic is set in.

Secondly, the purpose of this chapter is to introduce Bulma's new life and her friends. Another thing I need to point out is that I have continually made references to the Japanese culture. I think it makes the fic somewhat different that way.

I've been rattling on for too long now. Please enjoy the chapter!!

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**Chapter Three: Reminisce**

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_**Three years Later..**_

"Bulma Briefs, I am absolutely outraged by you continuously breaking the school rules. You are a twelfth grader and therefore you need to set an example for the students in the lower grades. We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour."

The hologram of a skinny black haired woman was looking rather flustered and angry as her image was projected onto her office chair. Megumi Tanaka was the principal of Orange Star High School and it was her duty to keep the school in line with her standards. She often walked around the school's ground every morning, keeping a watchful eye on the students and calling in anyone in the office who she thought needed to be disciplined. And today was no different. Even though she was away at a principals' society meeting in a different district, she still insisted on her routine morning lecture using the school's Holo-Comms system.

"Do you understand?"

Bulma did not respond immediately and only stared back as she chewed her gum. She never took those hologram figures seriously. It was just not the same as talking to them in person. She quickly ran one hand through her freshly dyed long jet black hair.

"Yes, I understand Tanaka Sensei." That was all she could say.

The principal shook her head as she continued to frown at her student.

"Now please return to class. And I don't want to see you at this school on Monday with your outrageous hair colour. You know that dying your hair is not permitted at this school. And also.." The woman paused as she looked at Bulma's legs with distaste. "White socks only. You may now go back to class."

Bulma gave a quick bow in acknowledgement and left the office. As she stepped outside, she let out a quick sigh of relief. She had expected to get at least a detention, which would have ruined her afternoon plans, but luckily she only got a warning. Bulma quickly straightened out her school uniform before looking at her watch, a classic diamond encrusted Chanel "J12". She then strode down the hall, walking past several janitor-bots that were cleaning windows nearby. She quickly left the building and started heading towards the parking lot. Suddenly, a blonde girl appeared from not too far away.

"Bulma! Truanting already so early in the morning?" The girl waved as she started walking towards her blue-haired friend.

Bulma stopped and glared at her friend. "Hey Juu. I'm just going to head down to the local shops to grab some hair dye remover. Tanaka doesn't seem to like my new hair colour. At least I _think_ she didn't. I wasn't too sure. I seemed to be talking to thin air." She then shrugged. "Whatever, man. The colour was cool while it lasted."

The blonde girl gave her a smirk. "Man, that black is gonna be such a bitch to remove though. Hey, I'll join you. Unnatural Science is boring anyway."

Bulma gave her a nod and walked towards her car, a silver convertible Mercedes Benz SL85. It was the hovercraft edition and was a gift from her parents for her 17th birthday several weeks ago. Unlocking the car using the fingerprint identification activator, Bulma stepped inside and sat down on the comfortable tan leather seats. Her blonde friend sat in the passenger seat.

"Man, your car is still hot. I'm so jealous. You always get the latest stuff!" Her friend gave her a playful pout.

Bulma gave her a smirk in response. "Yeh, I know."

A lot had changed since Bulma entered Orange Star High school. When ninth grade started, Bulma suddenly became a miserable girl who barely spoke and tried to avoid any social scenes. But after spending countless days of suffering in her own shell, when she finished junior high, something inside her snapped and she began to transform, shedding her "geeky" image.

On her first day of Orange Star High, the students from her previous school had been shocked to see that Bulma was no longer the same. She walked into school with her hair down, without her glasses, socializing with the other students and glaring at anyone who she did not approve of. This somewhat tomboyish and snobbish attitude she suddenly possessed seemed to startle many of the students, but soon everybody just accepted her for who she had become. They also remembered to always "approach with caution". But the transformation did not stop there. Sometime during tenth grade, Bulma's dad, Dr. Briefs, invented a technology that made use of capsules that reduced storage space by a large margin. It was one of the many other inventions by rival companies that seemed to have popped up overnight. But the capsules had definitely made a big impact across the globe. Dr. Briefs soon began an empire called Capsule Corporation and now the family lived the lifestyle of the riches.

And now here sat Bulma, the heiress of the now billion dollar company, in her expensive car, ready to cut another class to go shopping with her friend, Juuhachigou Iida, who she had been friends with since she first stepped inside Orange Star High. Yes, life had definitely turned out positive for the now spoilt and rebellious Bulma Briefs, however.. _Something still feels missing._

"Bulma? Is everything okay?" Juu interrupted her thoughts with a concerned voice.

"Yeah, everything is good. Let's go." Bulma gave her friend a quick smile before she exited the car park. Her car's loud engine roared with pride as she zoomed down the road,

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Bulma had gotten back to school from her shopping trip with Juu just before the lunch break. She was now in the last period, modern history, inconspicuously listening to her iPod Trillion as the teacher, Mr. Hanasaki, droned on about something she could not care less about.

"The technological era began in the 60s, but it was not until 19 years later, 2079, when it became predominant. Now class, I want you to jot this down because I might put this in next week's quiz. The important inventions that emerged in 2079 include the Holo-Comms system, Police-bots, the Inter-innernet, Capsules…"

Bulma started to yawn silently as she turned her head to the person next to her. Her friend, Krillin, who was a short bald male student, looked equally bored.

"Now I'm going to hand back the quizzes from last week. Now don't fret if you didn't score 100. It's only the beginning of the semester so there's still plenty of time for revision."

Bulma tapped her pen against the table and was looking around the room until a piece of paper fell in front of her.

"More revision needed, Miss. Briefs." Mr. Hanasaki spoke loud enough for Bulma to hear through the music that was playing through the headphones. The teacher then continued to hand out the quiz. Bulma picked up the paper to see a big "42" scrawled in red marker. She rolled her eyes as she scrunched up the paper and stuffed it in her bag.

Bulma plugged her earphones out as she complained to her friend. "What a stupid quiz! Since when was modern history about stuff that occurred two years ago?"

"Yeah, I reckon. I didn't do that well either."

Bulma then began watching the clock on the wall slowly tick away for the rest of the class as Mr. Hanasaki continued on about the "technology era". She smiled when she watched the second hand turn to twelve and the end of school bell rang loudly. Krillin jumped up with excitement.

"Finally!! I've been waiting for the weekend since -well- Monday! Is karaoke still on?"

Bulma smirked at her short bald friend as she straightened out her long black hair with her fingers. They had been planning a karaoke session with their group of friends since the beginning of the week. Karaoke was very big amongst the younger generation of the Japanese society and Bulma found herself being quite fond of this "group activity".

"Oh hell yeah it's still on. C'mon let's get out of here, Krillin."

The two of them walked outside the classroom and found Juu waiting for them outside. Krillin started waving to her.

"Hey Juu, did you skip last period too? Man, at the rate you're going, the school's gonna start wondering if you've been on a permanent vacation."

Juu glared at him before rolling your eyes. "I had a free period, chrome-head."

"My bad." Krillin put his arm behind his head and started to laugh. As much as he loved cracking a few jokes on Juu, he did not want to get onto her bad books. After all, he secretly had developed some feelings for her. But he was not planning to admit that anytime soon.

The three of them started to walk down the hall and began chattering away.

"So we're meeting ChiChi and Goku at the karaoke room that Bulma booked. It's a three hour session. Then we're going to have dinner at Ichiban Ramen. That's the plan so far. Any later activities can be discussed later."

"Yes, Juu, we accept whatever Miss Dictator throws at us."

"Shut up, Krillin."

"By the way guys, I invited Yamcha along. Hope you don't mind."

"You what?" Juu ceased walking immediately and stared at her blue-eyed friend. "Am I missing out on something here?"

Bulma sighed. "We're just friends, Juu."

"You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart," Krillin said while trying to mock a girl's voice.

Bulma ignored her bald friend's comment and continued to walk out the entrance. "I just thought it would be nice to invite him along with our little group activity. And please don't think anything of it. That would make me feel really uncomfortable."

"Sure, Bulma. We won't say anything."

Both Juu and Krillin knew about Bulma's crush on Yamcha back in junior high. Even though it did not last too long, they both wondered whether it was possible for her to rekindle any possible suppressed feelings from the past. But they were both wise enough to know not to probe Bulma too much with questions about junior high in case it "struck a nerve".

"I gotta pick up some things first from the super-vendor (Note: Get it? Supermarket Vending machine lol). I'll see you guys at the k-room." Krillin gave them a quick wave before heading towards his car.

After he was gone, Bulma heard Juu muttering. "Krillin's such a weird one. It's like, sometimes I think he's trying to get on my nerves but then he seems genuinely nice so I can't get mad at him."

Bulma rolled her eyes as she walked towards her car and pressed her thumb against the door's sensor, unlocking it. "Are you sure you don't have feelings for him?" She then climbed inside.

"Yes, I'm pretty sure! Don't start giving me ideas, Bulma!"

"Trust me, I had no intentions of doing that." Bulma then turned on the ignition and pulled away from the parking lot.

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After Bulma and Juu had arrived at the karaoke lounge, they had found ChiChi and Goku waiting for them at the entrance with Yamcha in tow. As they greeted one another, Bulma gave Yamcha a shy smirk.

"Hey, you made it."

"Of course I would! I'd never decline an invitation from you." Yamcha smiled at her as he watched her slightly blush.

"Bulma!!! Juu!! We've been waiting for awhile. Did you guys get lost?" ChiChi gave the two girls a hug.

"Nope. Juu insisted on getting a snack. So we stopped at Poporo's. Krillin should be here soon too."

"Okay, let's get to our room and order our drinks. Follow me."

Everyone followed ChiChi into the lounge and down the hall. When they reached a door that was labeled "127", ChiChi opened it. Inside the room contained the standard setting, a large U-shaped long couch, a coffee table with a row of buttons for room service and other functions, floating microphones, a touch screen on the side for song selection, and the TV screen that covered an entire wall. As the group stepped inside and started settling in, Krillin burst in the room and held up two full paper bags. "Hey guys! I've got some awesome snacks! Let's dig in."

The group cheered as they all swamped the bags and took out whatever goody they got their hands on. ChiChi then grabbed one of the floating microphones.

"Ahem! I just want to say that I think Bulma should have the first song choice since she was the one who suggested this outing. So Bulma, make your way to the spotlight!"

Bulma felt a little flushed as she walked to the touch screen and looked at the song selection. While most of her friends had a preference of the latest Japanese-pop songs that seemed to be played a bit too repetitively on the radio these days, Bulma preferred more "classic" songs, particular western songs from several decades ago. Her friends did not seem to understand why she liked these western "folk songs", as they called it, but they let her sing them anyway since it was different and they appreciated the diversity.

"Oh, here's a song I like." Bulma said softly as she selected the song. Soon the music began to play as the large TV-screen played the music video. The lights dimmed and a disco-ball started spinning multi-coloured lights above their heads. Bulma adjusted the microphone in front of her so it was levitating at the right height. She then looked around the room and gave a small smile. She then began to sing.

"_The smell of your skin lingers on me now. You're probably on your flight back to your home town. I need some shelter of my own protection, baby. To be with myself and center, clarity, peace, serenity._"

Bulma looked at her best friend, ChiChi, who was also quietly singing along, looking quite content. Goku sat next to her with his arms wrapped around her shoulder as he nodded along to the tune. Bulma smiled as she watched her friend.

"_The path that I'm walking, I must go alone. I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown. Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they? And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay._"

During the beginning of ninth grade, ChiChi had befriended Goku Kakarot Son when she had asked him for information on Vegeta. He was one of the top members of the school's kendo club and had been the club's captain when Vegeta had left the school. Goku and ChiChi started spending more time with each as they were finishing junior high, and by the time they both entered Orange Star High, they had become a couple. Bulma liked Goku's mature but cheerful personality and completely supported her best friend's relationship. Bulma's eyes then wandered over to Krillin, who was currently savouring on a packet of Pocky, a popular Japanese snack.

"_Like the little schoolmate in the school yard, we'll play jacks and Uno cards. I'll be your best friend, and you'll be my valentine._"

Bulma first met Krillin Roshi on the first day of Orange Star High. He was the first Japanese friend she had made from the school. They had bonded over a popular manga that they had both been reading and had become good friends since then. Krillin was part of the school's Kung fu club and had been often teased by his friends for having a "Shaolin monk" look. He was also the one who was responsible for introducing Bulma to his childhood friend, Juuhachigou Iida.

"_Yes you can hold my hand if you want to, 'cause I want to hold yours too. We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds._"

Juu was definitely one of the most unique people that Bulma had ever met. For starters, Juu was born an albino, which explained her blonde hair and blue eyes despite her full-blooded Japanese heritage. She often attracted a lot of attention due to her exotic appearance and gained many admirers from the school. She also had a non-albino twin brother, Juunanagou, who the group nicknamed "Jay", which represented the first initial of his name. Juu and her brother were close, but did not see each other much at school since he often disappeared around lunch time to hang around older friends.

"_But it's time for me to go home. It's getting late, dark outside. I need to be with myself and center, clarity, peace, serenity._"

Bulma smiled as she watched Juu snatching a Pocky from Krillin's hand and giving him a smirk. She knew that Juu and Krillin had been good friends for a very long and was hoping that one day they would both admit their feelings for each other. It had been painfully clear that they were interested in the other but neither one wanted to give in and confess to the other due to pride and shyness. Bulma's eyes then wandered next to the person sitting next to her, Yamcha. He gave her a grin followed by a thumbs-up.

"_I hope you know, I hope you know that this has nothing to do with you. It's personal, myself and I. We've got some straightening out to do._"

As Ironic as it sounded, Bulma became friends with Yamcha at the start of Orange Star High and to this day he still had no knowledge of the confession letter. He had approached her during one of their shared classes and they began to start a unique friendship. Bulma, to her surprise, found him to be a very sweet and considerate guy, but no matter how nice he was, her heart would not let her fall for him a second time.

"_And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket. But I've got to get a move on with my life. It's time to be a big girl now. And big girls don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry._"

As Bulma finished singing her song, Yamcha reached out to press the "clap" button and a loud applause could be heard from around the room. Krillin then jumped up from his seat and grabbed the microphone.

"Alright, thank you Bulma for the lovely singing! Now it's time for a song from the great Krillin singing the latest Rui Yamada song! Watch me blow everyone away!"

Bulma giggled as she sat down leaned back, her arm touching Yamcha's slightly. Krillin had always been the clown during the group's previous karaoke sessions. She picked up her drink and watched Krillin sing, feeling quite entertained.

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After the gang finished their karaoke session, they headed to the local noodle bar, Ichiban Ramen. They were a rather loud bunch as they chattered away and laughed at anything remotely funny. But as soon as the large bowls of noodles arrived, their conversation stopped as everyone dug into their meals. It was evident why they chose to eat at Ichiban Ramen.

"Kami, that was awesome!" Krillin sighed with satisfaction as he leaned back on his chair and patted his stomach. "I still wonder what their secret ingredient is. No other noodle bar can make ramen like Ichiban!"

Bulma nodded as she sipped her miso soup. "It's addictive. But I heard there's this really good Teppanyaki restaurant just down the road. We should totally check it out next time!"

ChiChi's eyes suddenly widened. "Teppanyaki! Brings back memories of Junior High, right Goku?"

Goku nodded as he wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "Of course I remember."

"Speaking of junior high, I heard that Goku and Yamcha used to be rivals or something?" Krillin suddenly asked before sipping his iced green tea.

Yamcha laughed in response. "Yeah, Tokyo International's basketball team and kendo club were very competitive with one another. It was kind of like this culture that began by the teams from a few grades above. But that is all history now. Right, Goku?"

Goku returned Yamcha's smile. "You're right. And if I did anything that offended you back then, well I'm sorry. We were young."

Yamcha nodded in agreement. "Yes, it was immature and juvenile. But hey, it's good that we don't have that sort of rivalry at Orange Star."

Bulma slightly frowned at Yamcha's word choice. _Immature and juvenile? Was that how I was back then?_

Yamcha did not notice Bulma's facial expression and continued on. "So how do you find the kendo club at Orange Star? Don't you find the tournaments to be more challenging than before?"

"I completely do! Especially when we are up against the teams from Blue Star High. Man, those guys all act like they just got straight out of boot camp!"

Yamcha laughed in response. "I know! But wasn't your training regime pretty tough back at Tokyo International? I remember walking past the club's dojo room and seeing you guys sweat it out all the time. Your team captain seemed like a boot camp trainer himself! Let's see.. Vegeta? Was that his name?"

Suddenly the whole table grew silent. Yamcha gave his new friends a confused look as their faces grew pale. All eyes then slowly turned to Bulma, who looked glumly downwards. It was clear that Yamcha was unaware that he had spoken a name that had been forbidden amongst the group. ChiChi had established this rule right at the start of High School and she had made it pretty clear that this rule should never be taken lightly.

Krillin then lifted his head up and gave a sudden laugh as he put his hand up behind his head. "Haha! Yamcha, it's funny how you remember so much about junior high! I barely remember which subjects I took. So anyway, how about we decide where to go now?"

Juu quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, I absolutely agree with you there, Krillin. How about dessert? The ice cream shop down the road looks good."

All eyes once again turned to Bulma. She seemed to be staring into space for a few seconds. But suddenly her face brightened and she started grinning. "Ice cream sounds good! But before we go, I wanna get a picture of us as a group. After all, this is gonna be the last day of me having black hair!"

ChiChi gasped as she reached out and gently touched her best friend's long dark locks. "But Bulma, this colour look so good on you! It's such a shame!"

Bulma shrugged. "Blame Tanaka." She then took out her cell phone and adjusted the settings of its 25 megapixel camera.

"Okay guys, you've got 15 seconds, huddle together everyone!" Bulma let go of her cell and it began levitating in the air.

Soon, everyone gathered around on one side of the table and grinned while posing at the camera. Soon, Bulma's cell phone started beeping and flashed as the photo was taken.

"Perfect guys, I'll send it to everyone when I get home." Bulma smiled as she examined the photo. _Thank you for being such great friends._

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"Mom! Dad! I'm home!"

Bulma dropped her car keys on the table next to the front door as she walked down the hallway. It was just past eight o'clock when she had said goodbye to her friends after their trip to the ice cream shop. She knew that her friends had been dying to ask her about what was "developing" between her and Yamcha, and she chose to leave quickly to avoid being bombarded with the questions. Bulma's attention suddenly reverted back to the empty hallway. She felt strange as the house was absolutely silent and she had at least expected her mother to greet her. Bulma walked towards the family lounge and peered inside only to find it dark and empty. "Strange, no one appears to be home."

She then headed into the electro-magnetic levitating glass elevator that was installed in front of the mansion's grand marble stairway. Soon she was transported to the third floor where the bedroom chambers were. She quickly stepped out of the elevator and walked towards her parent's headquarters which consisted of a large lounge area, study, their bedroom and personal bathroom. When she arrived, she knocked on their grand 2-doored entrance. After a few seconds of unresponsiveness, Bulma slowly opened the doors and peered inside. It was completely pitch black inside and Bulma had thought the room was empty until she heard a sob.

Bulma quickly turned on the light and gasped at the sight in front of her. There were broken pieces of glass and furniture scattered across the marble floor as well as on the large expensive Persian rug. In the center of the room lay a blonde-haired woman. Her body was sprawled over the crystal coffee table as her head was buried in her arms. Next to her lay a half filled glass of red wine and an empty bottle.

"Mom?" Bulma called out softly as she slowly stepped into the room. "What's going on? Where's dad?"

The blonde haired woman, Amelia Briefs, slowly raised her head and looked at her daughter with confusion. With her disheveled appearance, Bulma was not sure how intoxicated her mother was.

"Bulma, dear, you're home." The woman managed to say in a soft voice.

"Mom.. Where's dad? Why aren't the maid bots here to clean up this mess?"

The woman in front of her frowned at the mention of her own husband. "Your father went out. I sent the bots away earlier during the night and have not called for them yet."

Bulma felt completely powerless to do anything about the situation as she could only stare at her mother in disbelief. "What happened in here? Did you and dad have an argument?"

Amelia slowly picked herself up from the table and stood up shakily while taking her glass with her hand. "Yes, Bulma. It all started when I asked him where he was going tonight." She then took a sip from her glass and started walking unsteadily towards her bedroom.

Bulma felt anger starting to build inside her. "What did he say? Are you going to just put up with his shit all the time?"

Amelia did not stop walking as she raised her glass before taking another sip. "If he is going to see his so-called 'friends', who am I to complain about such an activity. Although.." she turned around and gave her daughter a cold stare. "I'm the only one who acknowledges them as gold-digging whores. But my words hold no value if he does not believe me." She then sculled down the rest of her wine before entering the bedroom.

Bulma let out a frustrated growl after her mom closed the door in her face. Bulma then stomped out of her parent's lounge room and pressed a button on the wall just outside. "Lucy, my parents' lounge needs cleaning." After she got a response, Bulma then continued walking down the hallway towards her own bedroom chambers. Without even stopping, Bulma marched straight into her walk-in wardrobe, threw off her school uniform and quickly changed into a pair of jeans and a short sleeved hooded jacket. She then marched back downstairs and grabbed her car keys off the table before heading out the door.

Bulma unlocked her car and stepped inside before slamming the door behind. As both her hands lay on her steering wheel, Bulma stared outside the window as her mind was racing at the speed off light. _I'm not running away, I just don't need to deal with this right now. I need some consistency in my life._

Bulma began to recompose herself as she took her cell phone from her bag and connected it to a port in her car, synchronizing the car's GPS system with the newer maps that she had installed onto her cell. She then pressed a button near the steering wheel. "Henry, I'm heading out now. Please open the main gate." She then turned on the ignition button and drove down the long path that lead to the exit of her family's large estate.

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"Jeez, Bulma, at the rate you're going, you're gonna beat my high score." A tall young man stood beside his blue hair friend as he watched her play her favourite shooting game, Time Crisis 4D. However, not even one minute after he said those words, Bulma's character had lost her last life in the game.

"Argh! Damn, I guess I didn't after all." Bulma let out a sigh as she lowered her plastic gun and slid out of virtual-reality dome that she had been standing under. "Hey Raditz, where did Jay go?"

"He's just outside, smoking like a chimney I bet."

Bulma rolled her eyes as she exited the large gaming arcade while Raditz followed suit. She started coughing as a cloud of smoke suddenly hit her.

"Bloody hell, is the outside air ventilator broken or something?"

Jay dropped the remainder of his cigarette into the bin nearby and gave Bulma a smile. "Hey B! How about I challenge you to a game of Initial D? They finally fixed the cars!"

Bulma shook her head. "Not today, Jay. I've got a huge headache and all the jerking from the cars is just gonna give me motion sickness."

As she spoke, Raditz took out a packet of cigarettes from the inside of his jacket and pulled a stick from the packet. "Well, you know what would cure that headache of yours, Bulma." He then offered her a cigarette.

Bulma frowned with disgust. "Oh fuck off, Raditz. Don't give me that shit. Even with the breakthrough non-cancerous factor, it still tastes like crap."

"Relax, B. I was just kidding!"

Bulma gave him a smirk. "So anyway, how's college?"

Raditz shrugged. "Shit lecturers. Shit assessments. The chicks are hot though!"

Bulma rolled her eyes at his response. "Picking up at a learning institution is so lame."

Suddenly, Jay's eyes lightened up. "Hey B! That just reminded me, how did that date with Yamcha today go?"

Bulma began to cross her arms. "Firstly, it was not a date. And secondly, I'm going to kill Juu for spreading such a ridiculous rumour!"

Jay frowned. "Oh c'mon, B. We all know that you haven't been in a serious relationship since, well, since I've met you! If you like him, you should just swallow your pride and go for it. Who knows, he might be responsible for the taming of a shrewd."

Bulma laughed. "You skip way too many classes to be making such a reference, Jay. But seriously, I don't have any romantic feelings for Yamcha. And If I did, I might tell you guys, okay?"

Jay gave her a playful sad look. "Might? But B, you're like my bro. We tell each other everything!"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "Okay, whatever you say, Jay."

"So with that aside, you know, it's been awhile since I last saw you. How have you been, Bulma?" Raditz's tone of voice sounded serious with a mixture of concern.

Bulma did not answer straight away as she thought about the earlier events during the night when she had discovered her mother in a drunken state. She wanted to tell someone so badly. She had to let everything out before everything she had been bottling up inside swallowed her in along with all the problems. But how could she tell anyone? After all, she was known to all for having the "perfect" life, how could she let that image be destroyed?

Bulma shook her head and laughed. "Why be so serious for, Raditz? Life is good as always. It got so boring at home so I decided to visit you guys. But man, you two should really grow up! Move on to a nightclub or something!"

Raditz laughed at her. "Yeah, I reckon! But unfortunately little Jay here is still underage! And I'm the only one nice enough to stick around here."

Bulma cringed. She had read in her history book that several decades ago, teenagers could freely roam around any adult area with just a fake ID. But with Tokyo's identification chip imbedded into every individual's wrist, a simple scan would reveal their precise age accurately.

Jay shrugged at Raditz's comments. "No biggie right? Only a few more months to go!"

Bulma nodded with agreement. "It's really exciting! We get to graduate after next semester and then it's goodbye to high school forever!"

Jay nodded. "Yeah, but things are gonna get hectic later on with the college entrance exams and all."

"So before that happens, how about we go inside and have some fun. I challenge you to a game of point blank!"

Jay laughed. "You know you're only gonna get your ass kicked, B."

"Bring it on!"

Bulma giggled as she linked arms with both Jay and Raditz before walking back inside the building.

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Bulma got home at around 11pm that night. She had asked security whether her father had returned but was only disappointed to learn that he had not yet come home. Bulma then walked to her parents' bedroom chambers and peered inside. It had been cleaned and was restored to its original state, minus the photo frames, vases, and other small items that had been broken. Bulma had contemplated on whether or not she should check on her mother, but as she neared the room, she saw that the lights were off so she decided against the idea. Her mother was probably asleep by now.

Bulma quietly walked to her own bedroom chamber, deciding to take a late shower.

When Bulma had finished showering, she stepped out of her bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head as well as a traditional Japanese Yukata robe wrapped around her body. Bulma slowly started drying her hair with her towel as she let her long blue locks fall around her shoulders. Bulma smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. The black hair-dye had washed off a lot easier than she had expected when she applied the remover. She was somewhat relieved to have her blue hair back - it was a better match for her pale complexion and blue eyes.

While Bulma was brushing her hair, she suddenly heard her phone ring and she picked up her Bluetooth earpiece. The caller ID on the earpiece indicated that it was Krillin.

"Hey Krillin. What's up?"

"Hey Bulma! I'm in the middle of a project right now-"

Bulma gasped. "You're doing a project on a Friday night? Wow, Krillin. That's amazing considering what time it is right now." She could hear her friend laugh nervously on the other end.

"Yeah, well, I kinda started half an hour ago and it's due on Monday. I figured that if I didn't do this project, my chances of getting accepted to college would go from slim to zero."

"Oh please, you're too harsh on yourself. So which subject is this project for?"

"Science."

"You mean, Unnatural science?"

"Well yeah, since when was science natural these days?"

Bulma heard a chuckle from the other end. She could only agree with Krillin. Even the moon that shone brightly in the sky every night was just a projection. The real moon was long gone. When astro-scientists discovered that Earth was spiraling towards the sun at a faster than usual rate, panic arose and soon they developed electro magnetic plates that were planted close to the core of the planet to keep it from tilting after each orbit. Since the earth's angle had been unnaturally changed, the moon soon lost control of its own orbit and soon crashed into the sun, destroying it completely. However, that was all history now.

"So what did you need help with?" Bulma asked.

"Yeah, about that.. I recalled that you had a scientific microscope? I need it to look into man-made living cells. Do you reckon I could borrow it over the weekend?"

"Sure! It's such an outdated device though. Let me try to find it. Honestly I haven't used it since I moved here. I'll look for it now," Bulma said as she ran to her study and put her hand against a panel on the wall.

"_Handprint recognition complete. Welcome Bulma Briefs._" The metal wall suddenly moved sideways revealing an entrance to a large room with numerous contraptions lying on the table and on the shelves. It was her personal laboratory. Since her father became a famous scientist, he had insisted on teaching his daughter how some of his inventions had worked. Surprisingly, Bulma had been rather interested in his work despite being easily distracted from her own schoolwork. She had learnt all the concepts rather quickly and her father rewarded her by having her personal laboratory installed in her private chambers.

Bulma walked inside and paced towards one of the large shelves. She scanned the area before pulling out a cardboard box.

"Krillin, you still there?"

"Yup, still here, Bulma."

"Well, I've just found the box. It should be inside." She said as she rummaged her hands around the box. She then saw what she was looking for and pulled it out. "Aha! I've found it, Krillin!" While she stood up, suddenly something heavy fell onto the floor with a loud clang. Curiously, Bulma picked up the small trinket and her eyes suddenly widened.

"That's great news, Bulma! So I'll pick it up tomorrow morning?"

Bulma did not even hear her friend's voice on the other end as she stared at the skeleton key she had held onto. _How long has it been since I've hidden this away?_

"Bulma? You still there?"

Bulma's eyes suddenly snapped out of the trance that she was in. "Yes, sorry, something came up. You can pick the microscope up tomorrow. Good night, Krillin." She hung up on him before any questions came up. Bulma then slowly stood up while the key was clutched tightly in one hand. She then slowly walked out of the lab and into her bedroom. She sat down on her bed as her eyes stared blankly ahead. _It's okay, I don't love him anymore. It was over years ago. It was stupid. I was a child! _

Bulma then kneeled down in front of her bed and pulled out a large pink box from underneath it. The box was covered in dust and it was evident that the colour had slightly faded after years of abandonment. Bulma closed her eyes as she tried to control her emotions. _Even if I do remember everything again, it will be okay. I'm over it. I can walk away.. can't I?_

Bulma took in a deep breath as she opened her eyes and reached her arms out to unlock the box. She then slowly opened it.

Peering inside, the first thing that came into view was a pink-ray memory stick. Unable to remember what it contained, Bulma took her cell phone out and gave it a quick scan. Looking at her phone, she suddenly realized that the memory stick contained a song. She pressed the play button and slow music began to play. Resting the phone on her bed, Bulma continued to look through the box.

The first thing she picked up was a blue tie. It was part of the boy's school uniform at Tokyo International. One day after school, Bulma had insisted on trying on Vegeta's tie while he walked her home. And after she had admired herself in it, he said she could keep it. Bulma smiled to herself at the memory as she picked up the next item.

The next item was a piece of paper with lots of small scribbles all over it in English. It had been something she and Vegeta had used as a medium of communication when they could not talk during class. Bulma frowned to herself as her ears suddenly caught onto the words from the song that was playing softly through her phone.

_- "So what do you do when somebody you're so devoted to_

_suddenly stops loving you?_

_And it seems they haven't got a clue_

_of the pain that rejection is putting you through._

_Do you cling to your pride and sing "I will survive"?_

_Do you lash out and say "How dare you leave this way"?_

_Do you hold on in vain as they just slip away? -_

Bulma slowly sifted through a few more items before coming across a photo. She lifted the photo up to her face as she examined it closely. Bulma began to cringe a little at her appearance back then. The photo was taken during a field friend in eighth grade. In the photo, Bulma was smiling happily as she held out a "peace" sign. Vegeta was standing next to her with his arms crossed and his trademark smirk. He had not wanted to be in the photo that day but ChiChi had insisted on taking it. Bulma smiled sadly at the memory. Putting down the photo, Bulma was about to close the box when she suddenly noticed a small lump underneath a pile of scrap paper.

_- "Well I guess I'm trying to be nonchalant about it._

_And I'm going to extremes to prove I'm fine without you._

_But in reality, I'm slowly losing my mind_

_underneath the disguise of a smile._

_Gradually I'm dying inside." -_

Bulma found a small gift box underneath and she instantly knew what it was.

Flashback

"_I'm going to miss you, Bulma." He said softly. Her eyes widened with surprise as she heard him call her by her name, a very rare occurrence. He then let go of her and stared intensely into her eyes. He gently took off her glasses. "Your eyes are beautiful, just like your soul. You don't have to hide behind these all the time." He then leaned forward and kissed her on the lips._

_Her heart almost skipped a beat when she felt his warm lips on hers. She then closed her eyes, wanting to preserve this moment forever. She could not feel anymore happier. She finally got what she had waited for in such a long time. _

_But her heart sank as she came back to reality when the kiss ended. He gave her a smirk but she could see that there was some sadness in his eyes. Suddenly, something was placed in her hand and she looked down to see a small pink box with a bow on top. _

"_Is this for me?" She managed to ask in a whisper._

_Vegeta nodded. He then gave her a peck on the forehead. "Good bye, I'll be seeing you when you get back." And before she could respond, he left the building. She saw her pink umbrella vanish in the now heavy rain._

End of Flashback

After Bulma relived that moment, she slowly opened the box. And there it lay, still as shiny and beautiful since the day she had received it. With one hand, Bulma slowly picked up the small padlock bracelet. Suddenly a familiar feeling overtook her. Bulma clutched the bracelet tightly to her chest as she let her tears fall down. The words of the song haunted her mind.

_- "Friends ask me how I feel and I lie convincingly_

'_cause I don't want to reveal, the fact that I'm suffering._

_So I wear my disguise, 'til I go home at night_

_and turn down all the lights._

_And then I break down and cry." -_

It had been too late. She had thought she could handle the memories, but in the end she lost the battle. Her wounds had reopened and she found herself in pain as every encounter she had with Vegeta was restored to her.

"This is bullshit.." she softly muttered to herself. _It all means nothing! I won't put myself through that ever again!_

Bulma hastily wiped her face dry as fast as she could before putting everything back into the box. She pushed the box back under the bed before climbing in herself. She then turned off her lamp before burying her head into the pillow. She had hoped to fall asleep quickly and forget about the whole ordeal the next morning.

Unfortunately for Bulma, the night turned restless.

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**A/N:** Sorry guys that none of your questions from the previous chapter were answered! But they will be in future chapters, so you'll just have to wait. P

The two song references I made were Fergie's "Big girls don't cry" and Mariah Carey's "Breakdown". I also would like to point out that I barely passed physics, or science in general for that matter, back in high school, so please don't point out any faults you see in the theories. They're most likely wrong but let's just pretend that they're right for the sake of the story.

Now please do me a favour and **review**!!!! It would really make my day!!

Coming up next chapter: Vegeta returns to Tokyo! How will Bulma react?


	5. The Autumn Star Festival

**A/N:** Hey guys! I'm proud to get this chapter in relatively early.

Firstly, I wanna thank all the people who reviewed last chapter, you know who you are. You guys are seriously the best and the reason why I push myself to produce another chapter. So thank you guys so much!!!

To be quite frank, I wasn't sure how people would respond to the whole futuristic setting combined with Japanese culture. If you would like to comment about it, please leave a review!!

Now there's one thing I would like to address, particularly to JeMS7. Now I know that I haven't really mentioned much about Bulma's bracelet, but I assure you that it will become an important part of the plotline later in the fic.

And another thing I would like to add, I know that Yamcha is turned into a cheater, rapist, drunk, and all sorts of nasty things in other fics but in this one he's just a normal nice boy.

So now onto the chapter! Enjoy!

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**Chapter Four: The Autumn Star Festival**

**--------------------------------------------------------**

"Oh. My. God. Yumi Touji is secretly dating Rui Yamada! That's just scandalous! He's too good for her!"

ChiChi threw down the magazine on the table in front of her as she crossed her arms. "I just don't get celebrities!"

"Chich, why do you read that trash? Half of the stuff in it is just bullshit," Juu tucked a piece of her blonde hair behind her ear as she continued to read her manga.

ChiChi pouted as she pulled out her cell phone and stared at it. "I wonder what's up with Goku? I haven't seen him at all this morning and he hasn't replied any of my text messages!"

"He probably slept in," Juu replied in a monotone voice as she did not even glance up.

ChiChi sighed as she turned her attention to Bulma, who seemed to be nodding off next to them. ChiChi frowned. It was now Monday and all three girls had a free period that morning. However, instead of being energized for the remainder of the week, Bulma barely spoke or listened to what her friends had to say.

"Bulma Briefs! You're suddenly starting to resemble my grandmother! Did you not sleep over the weekend or something?"

Bulma's head suddenly shot up and she looked around the room. She then noticed that she had a magazine sitting open on her lap. She looked up to give ChiChi a confused look. "What?"

"I _said_ you look out of it!"

Bulma gave her a small laugh. "Yeah, I was in my lab all weekend going over some stuff for my dad and then I guess I just lost track of time."

Juu smirked at her friend. "Was that a way of trying to distract yourself from a certain someone?"

Bulma's eyes suddenly widened. _How does she know? Am I that transparent?_

ChiChi suddenly smiled and joined in the conversation. "Oh yes! It must have been about Yamcha! Look, Bulma, you can confide in us. Yamcha seems like a really nice guy and even though you claim that you had forgotten about him back in junior high, he might still be the right one for you. Love can be ironic after all."

Bulma frowned. "The right one? Oh c'mon, Chich. You know I don't believe in that fairytale bullshit. And I'm telling you guys, I don't have any feelings for Yamcha. He's just a friend! So let's talk about something else." She held up her magazine, trying to distract herself from any more questions.

"But Bulma-"

"No buts!"

ChiChi then lifted her two hands up in the air as a sign of retreat. "Fine! So let's talk about something else! What's your latest target, Bulma?"

Bulma gave her friend a smirk as she rubbed her hands together. "My latest target is something absolutely awesome, but I'll need you guy's advice." She then held out the magazine she was reading, the latest issue of Japan's Vogue. "Louis Vuitton Metallic Monogram Clutch! It's damage-proof, plus it's compatible with Capsule Corp's handbag storage range. So should I get it in pearl white or frost pink?"

Both Juu and ChiChi leaned closely to examine the magazine article.

"Definitely pearl white," Juu confirmed as she popped a piece of gum into her mouth.

ChiChi nodded with agreement. "It would totally have a better match with most of your outfits."

Bulma grinned. "Pearl white it is then! It's been such a long time since we dressed up and hit the local under 18's club."

Juu cringed at the idea. "That's because it's overpopulated by 15 year old girls who think they can wear their skirts that short just 'cause they're not in junior high anymore, and pubertal boys who are desperate enough to hit on anything to satisfy their curiosity."

Bulma nodded. "Well, there are always those huge parties that Raditz invites everyone to."

Juu smirked. "Goku's brother is a real badass. Those parties are generally full of crazy college students. And my brother always seems to be attending. Well, I guess we could check it out sometime."

Suddenly, ChiChi's eyes widened and she began to squeal. "Oh. My. God. I almost forgot something extremely important! The Autumn Star Festival is coming up in a few days!!"

Bulma smiled. "How could we forget? I heard it's going to be more awesome this year. They're going to showcase the new range of fireworks that has never been seen before!"

"And we'll get to dress up in our cute little kimonos! It's going to be so much fun!"

Soon afterwards, all three girls had stopped whatever they were doing and suddenly huddled together to talk excitedly about the festival.

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Meanwhile..

"It's good that you chose this school. The facilities are great and the students here are quite nice. You'd really enjoy your last year of school here."

Goku walked down the school hallway as he motioned his hand towards an entrance to another hallway.

"I'll start off by showing you the Design and Technology area. There are computer labs as well as design labs where the lessons are held."

Goku turned to face the new student next to him, waiting for a response. Soon enough, the new student began to smirk.

"Lead the way."

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Bulma was now in second period, Modern History, sitting in her usual seat next to Krillin. It was almost the end of the period, and instead of working on their tasks that was assigned by their teacher, they were talking amongst themselves, dwelling in topics that were anything but "Modern" History.

"The Autumn Star Festival is going to be so much fun this year, and I still haven't decided which kimono to wear. Maybe I should buy a new one? But sometimes it's hard to find the perfect one. I mean, I'm not Japanese and don't have the luxury of inheriting those gorgeous vintage kimonos. Juu is so lucky! Oi, Krillin, are you listening?" Bulma frowned as she stared at her friend, who had been reading a newspaper.

"Oh yeh, Bulma. Sorry. I'm just a little worried that's all," Krillin managed to respond with a nervous laugh.

"Worried about what?"

"This." Krillin folded a section of the newspaper and handed it to Bulma. The title of the article read "Earthquake Warning!"

Bulma rolled her eyes. "But it doesn't mean that it's going to happen. I mean, haven't those type of warnings been around for ages? And haven't scientists stopped the cause of natural disasters decades ago?"

"Yeah, but this article is different. It's saying that there may be natural disasters that are caused in an unnatural way"

Bulma gave Krillin a confused look. "What are you saying? Like terrorism?"

"Well, not exactly but similar. I'm thinking it's some sort of conspiracy theory."

Suddenly the bell rang, indicating the end of the period. Bulma began to stand up and pack her things. "You've been watching way too many vintage movies, Krillin. The world isn't as corrupted as it used to be."

"Yeah, but that's just not human nature. We've been suppressed for far too long. It's only a matter of time before people get too frustrated and just blow up at one another."

Before Bulma could respond, her cell phone started to ring. "Hold that thought, Krillin." Bulma then picked up her cell phone. "Hey Raditz. What's up?" Pause. "Now? Well, yeah I guess." Pause. "Really? Alright then. I'll be out in a minute. See you soon." Bulma then hung up and turned to Krillin. "Raditz just called. He wants to meet up for some coffee with me and Jay. He's just outside the school right now."

Krillin frowned. "Raditz the big badass gangster wants to have coffee?"

Bulma laughed. "Yeah, it's quite hard to imagine that he's a big coffee nut."

"So are you skipping next period?"

Bulma nodded. "Yeah, it's mathematics anyway, something I'm actually really good at. Tell the others I'll be back before lunch. And cover for me."

"Sure, Bulma. See you later."

Bulma gave a quick wave before walking out of the classroom and made her exit out of the building. As she was nearing the parking lot, she saw Jay from the distance as he ran to catch up to her.

"Yo, B. Raditz wants to try the newly opened Fuyu Coffeehouse that's across the road from Poporo's. You reckon I could get a ride with you?"

"Sure, no problem."

"So are you going to the Autumn Star Festival?" Jay asked nervously.

"Well, yeah! It's the one thing I'll never miss out on. You and Raditz should join us. It would be so much fun!"

Jay let out a soft chuckle. "Oh yeah, it would be cool. It'll be a good way to be reminded of my heritage."

"Well, if you feel uncomfortable dressing up for the event, you could always not dress up. A lot of people don't anyway."

"Yeah, you're right." Jay suddenly squinted his eyes a little and then pointed to the direction in front of them. "Hey, isn't that Goku over there at the entrance of the car park? What's he doing there?"

Bulma looked ahead and nodded. "You're right!" She then placed two fingers in her mouth and gave a loud ear-piercing whistle. "Goku! What are you doing out here?" Goku turned around and gave her a smile and a quick wave. He was with another male student.

Bulma suddenly stopped in her tracks when she recognized who the new student was. Dark ebony eyes bore into hers, capturing her soul as she stood there in awe. _Oh kami, are my eyes playing tricks on me? Why would HE be here out of all people? Even though I've spent so many nights wondering when I'd meet him again, why does it have to be NOW? I'm not emotionally prepared!!_

"Bulma, what's wrong?" Jay's voice was filled with confusion.

Bulma did not respond right away. She had been too busy staring at the boy, or young adult rather, standing in front of her. She was examining every single one of his features. He had changed quite a bit since the last time she saw him. Firstly, he had grown a noticeable amount of height as he was now almost as tall as Goku. His hair was also much longer than before, and it now shot up in a flame-like manner. His features were much more defined, not only his face-shape, but Bulma could sense that underneath the school uniform, he had a very athletic build. He now looked like a mature young man who had finally stepped out of the shadow of his former child-self.

After the new student had finished examining her, he started to cross his arms as he smirked at her.

"_Bulma_. It's been awhile." He said in a low-pitched voice. Even his voice had changed. Bulma found herself falling in love with his voice as she felt her face slightly flushed. _How could such perfection turn out to be Vegeta?_

Bulma felt her heart skip a beat as familiar feelings began to take over. At that moment, she wanted to run towards him and throw his arms around him. She wanted to tell him how much she had missed her "Veggie-chan". But Bulma's pride would not let any emotions seep outside the barrier of her skin.

Instead, Bulma gave Vegeta a smirk.

"Yes, it sure has been awhile. Vegeta, was it?"

She watched his smirk turn into a slight frown as she walked past him, making sure that her facial expression remained indifferent as she brushed past him. She then walked towards her car, which was only a few feet away from Goku and Vegeta. She unlocked her car and stepped inside. Jay had also climbed into the passenger seat. Suddenly, a roar of engine could be heard and Bulma saw Raditz stop his motorbike just next to her car.

"Hey bro." Raditz gave Goku a small acknowledgement before turning his attention back to Bulma. "Let's go." He then amplified his engine's noise before zooming away. Bulma then pushed a button of the car, letting down the roof completely, while she put on her designer sunglasses. She then drove out of her parking space.

"I'll catch you later, guys," she said coolly, before she drove away, leaving Vegeta standing there in confusion.

How could that have been the girl he knew from so many years ago? She had blossomed into a striking young woman, and he felt intrigued by her every feature. Even her scent engulfed him when she had walked past him. _But she seemed to have forgotten me._

Goku turned to his former friend and noticed the shocked look on his face. "Ummm.. Vegeta?"

Vegeta quickly composed himself as he turned to Goku, scowling. "Tell me Kakarot, was that really the same woman from junior high?"

Goku nodded. "You know, a lot has changed in these last three years. I was kind of hoping you two would reunite under different circumstances. But.. well, what you see is what you get. Don't worry, soon enough you'll realize that deep down inside, Bulma is still the sweet girl she always had been."

Vegeta scowled at Goku as he crossed his arms. "I am NOT worried. I don't even care about her! I had forgotten her entire existence after I moved to Osaka."

"But Vegeta, you don't have to hide your feelings. I can tell that-"

"Your assumptions are wrong! And this conversation will end here. Now please take me to my new class."

Goku gave Vegeta a nervous nod. "Alright then, just follow me." Goku then headed to the direction of the science building, followed by a silent Vegeta. Goku just somehow knew that it was going to be a rough day.

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Bulma could barely function properly after her encounter with Vegeta. She had been a nervous wreck when she had arrived at the coffeehouse that even Raditz had noticed her suddenly clumsy behaviour. The truth was, Bulma had been so excited when she saw Vegeta again that her heart almost stopped beating. But after _that_ encounter, Bulma felt like she really gave off a bad impression and she was not sure what would happen now that they were schoolmates once again, making it difficult for her to avoid him.

Bulma's mind was full of thoughts as she trudged through the school's entrance after her coffee break. She almost did not see ChiChi and Juu running towards her.

"Bulma! Oh my god. Goku told me everything. How are you feeling?" ChiChi asked with concern as she threw her arms around Bulma.

"I'm fine, Chich. I mean, I only saw him for like for five seconds. Although I'm not sure if I'm going to be fine for the rest of the school year." Bulma then noticed Juu's smirk.

"I must say, it was a surprise that I finally got to meet _the_ Vegeta Ouji that I've heard so much about."

Bulma's mouth dropped open. "You guys met him already?"

ChiChi gave her a nod. "Yes! And he sure has changed! Now don't be alarmed when I tell you this, Bulma. But Goku sort of invited him to sit with us at lunchtimes. I hope you don't mind. We could totally kick him out if you're not comfortable with it."

"Oh c'mon, Chich. I've been over him for awhile now! I admit, it'll be weird at first. But I'll get used it. So it's fine!"

"Alright, if you say so. Well, let's go to the cafeteria now."

Both girls linked arms with Bulma as the trio walked into the school together. When they had reached the cafeteria, the rest of the gang had already been seated. Bulma took her seat at one end of the table as she noticed, from the corner of her eye, that Vegeta was staring at her at the other end. The atmosphere was suddenly very uncomfortable as she realized that her friends were silent.

"So guys.." Bulma began to speak. "What's happening this Friday? What time are you guys getting to the festival?"

Goku's eyes shot up. "Oh! The Autumn Star Festival! It starts at 5pm, but knowing you girls need your time to get ready, we could all meet up at the entrance of the grounds at 6pm?"

Krillin nodded in agreement before turning his attention onto Vegeta. "Why don't you join us, Vegeta? It'll help you get reacquainted with Tokyo."

All eyes turned to Vegeta as they waited for his response. But Vegeta only shrugged. "If I have nothing else on, I will make an effort to attend."

"That's great! The more the merrier!" Goku said cheerfully. Soon, the table started to chatter away as the silence broke off. The main topic was of course the Autumn Star Festival, as it had been an event that only occurred once a year. Amongst all the conversations, Bulma sat quietly in her seat as she ate her lunch. She was feeling very self conscious as she could sense that she was being watched. She wanted to look at Vegeta but was too scared to look at his direction.

Suddenly Bulma shot up from her seat and everyone stared at her.

"I'm just getting a drink," she announced.

ChiChi then stood up too. "Me too, I'll come with you." The two girls then walked down to the drink station, where all the varieties of drinks were laid neatly in front of them.

"Hey Bulma, is everything okay? You're not feeling too comfortable with this, are you?" ChiChi asked as she picked up a bottle of peach water and scanned her student card against the counter.

Bulma shook her head. "It's okay, Chich. It's just so weird. It's… argh! I just can't say it, it's too embarrassing!"

Suddenly a sly smirk formed across ChiChi's face. "Oh my god. I think I know what it is. You still like him don't you?"

Bulma gasped at her friend's realization. "Chich! It's not that! I mean, I don't know. I'm just confused. I thought I was over him. All those years I just pictured him to turn into some evil troll who did horrible things. And look what happened! Suddenly the new student at our school is this handsome guy who I could totally have a crush on, and he happens to be my ex-boyfriend!"

"Then what are you afraid of?" ChiChi asked with confusion. "I mean, it's pretty obvious that there's still something there. You should either rekindle those feelings or decide that you want to move on."

"So what are you suggesting? That I should chase after him?"

ChiChi shook her head. "I just think that you need to take time to figure yourself out. Do some soul searching. Don't judge him because of his actions from the past. You know yourself that you both have changed dramatically in the past three years. Anything could happen. Maybe you should get reacquainted with him."

"And how do I do that?"

"Well.. Oh, I know!" ChiChi grinned. "How about the Autumn Star Festival? It's the perfect event for you two to spend some time together. I'll make sure you two get a little privacy." She said the last part with a wink.

"I don't know, Chich.." Bulma paused as she glanced at her table from far away. Just looking at Vegeta's figure in the distance gave her heart a reaction. She then turned to her best friend. "Alright, we'll see what happens."

ChiChi smiled as she handed Bulma the bottle of peach water before making her way back to their table.

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The next few days had dragged on for what seemed like eternity. At least it did for Bulma Briefs. It was now the night of the festival, and Bulma was in her room fixing her hair for the event. She was now wearing a beautiful pink Kimono (traditional Japanese robe dress). The pink material was made from satin with beautiful Sakura (cherry blossoms) scattered all over. Complete with the Kimono was a matching white Obi (traditional kimono belt) tied around her waist. Bulma had tied her long blue hair into a loose bun and allowed short strands of hair fall over both sides of her face.

As Bulma applied her make up in front of her large vanity mirror, she thought about the last few days. She had spoken to Vegeta only during a few occasions but the conversations were short and trivial. She was hoping to spend more time with Vegeta tonight as well as engaging in some deeper conversations.

As Bulma finished up with her make up, she quickly looked at her watch and realized it was time to go. Grabbing her small pouch bag and slipping on her traditional Japanese wooden sandals, Bulma quickly made her way downstairs. As she walked down the large hall, she saw her father in the family lounge room, typing away on his laptop.

"Hey daddy, I'm going to the festival now. You and mom should come and have a look too if you're not busy tonight."

Dr. Briefs looked up from his laptop and gave his daughter a smile. "Not tonight, sweetheart. I've made other plans for tonight. But you go have fun. And you look absolutely gorgeous in your kimono, you could almost pass for a Japanese."

Bulma giggled as she waved goodbye. "Thanks daddy, I'll see you later."

She then walked out of her house and headed towards her car.

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When Bulma arrived at the festival, she felt almost claustrophobic when she found the place flooded with people, ranging from small children to old couples. Half of the people were dressed in the traditional Japanese clothing while the other half were dressed casually. Bulma then noticed Juu and ChiChi running towards her as they spotted her at the entrance.

"Bulma! My gosh, I absolutely love your kimono!! It's gorgeous!!" ChiChi exclaimed as she hugged her best friend. Bulma had noticed that ChiChi was in a light blue kimono. She then glanced a Juu, who was in a yellow kimono. She then gave both her friends a hug.

"Not as gorgeous as you guys. Tonight is gonna be so fun!" Bulma exclaimed. The girls then walked inside and pushed through the crowd until they reached the place where the boys had been waiting. Bulma's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she saw that all three boys had dressed up. She particularly could not take her eyes off Vegeta's attire. Vegeta was dressed in a modern male kimono that consisted of a white robe, dark grey bottoms (hakama) which tied around his waist with a fabric belt, and a black haori that served as a coat over the kimono. Seeing him in this outfit reminded Bulma of a courageous Japanese hero and it made her heart pound.

Vegeta also seemed to be distracted as he watched Bulma with a smirk. Seeing her clad in the beautiful pink kimono almost blew his breath away. It was not that he had never seen girls in kimonos before, but it was Bulma's exotic-looking appearance that added to the beauty of the creature standing in front of him.

"Woman, you look… good," was all he could let himself mutter.

Bulma gave him a shy smile. "You don't look too bad yourself."

ChiChi began to notice the sudden bashfulness between the two and she decided that it was time to do something about it.

"Hey guys, let's not just stand here and talk. Let's start looking around. Me and Goku are going to check out the food section 'cause we're absolutely hungry." ChiChi gave Juu a quick nudge as she spoke.

Juu seemed to have gotten the hint when she began nodding with enthusiasm. "And Krillin and I have been dying to see the art section!"

"We are?" Krillin asked but was quickly shot down by a glare from Juu before he could protest. "Yeah, we are! C'mon! Let's go Juu! We'll catch you guys later!"

Before Bulma could respond, her friends all started to head off in different directions, leaving her alone with Vegeta.

"Great.." Bulma began to mutter under her breath.

Vegeta gave a soft chuckle as he also realized what had happened. "So now it is just the two of us, I knew I shouldn't have bothered coming." He then smirked when he saw a hurt look from Bulma's face. "But being the gentleman that I am, I'll escort you around."

Bulma almost gasped at Vegeta's chivalry as she gave him a slow nod. For a moment, she almost forgot the three year gap and thought that nothing had ever changed. But she soon snapped out of it and frowned. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I'm gonna check out the markets." She then marched straight forward towards the stalls. To her surprise, Vegeta followed her and soon he was walking next to her.

For a few minutes, Bulma and Vegeta just walked silently side by side. Neither knew how to start the conversation.

"So have you been to the star festival before?" Bulma asked, managing to break the silence.

Vegeta shook his head. "I must admit I was never at Tokyo for long enough to attend. But I have been told of it many times. It's the only time of the year when thousands of stars shine brightly in the Tokyo sky. It's such a pity though."

Bulma frowned slightly. "What's a pity?"

"That the earth's nature is slowly ripped away by mankind. And we can only saviour what's left of it."

"But don't you think that technology has helped make things better? It has prolonged life."

Bulma began to gulp when Vegeta suddenly leaned down towards her face. It was now evident how much taller he was compared to before.

"Covering up the flaws of the earth will only make things worse through time," he whispered loudly enough so that only she could hear his voice. After saying that, he then straightened up and began walking away.

Bulma found her face as hot as an oven as she suddenly realized how close he had been. She blinked as she watched him walk away and her embarrassment suddenly turned to anger.

"Hey! Where are you going?? I don't want to get lost!"

She began pushing herself past the crowd of people when she suddenly smacked right in the center of a very hard back. "What the heck.." she muttered when Vegeta suddenly turned around, barely noticing what happened.

"Takoyaki?" He handed her a skewer that consisted of several fried ball shaped dough.

Bulma was a little surprised at first but she managed to recover quickly and grabbed the skewer off his hand. "Don't run off like that! I don't want to get lost in this crowd."

Vegeta shrugged as he took a bite off his own skewer. Bulma then started eating her Takoyaki as she gazed up the sky. It was absolutely beautiful tonight. The thousands of stars dazzled like diamonds in the endless black background. Bulma found herself leaning slightly against Vegeta's arm without realizing. He took notice of this but decided not to say anything.

"They say that during the week of the Star Festival, that's when all of our ancestor's spirits come back to visit us. But once the week is over, our ancestors will leave with the stars and will not visit again until the following year," Bulma said softly. When she did not get a response, Bulma looked in Vegeta's direction and saw that he was looking intensely at the sky. _What could be on his mind right now?_ Bulma wondered to herself. She then noticed that she was leaning on Vegeta's arm and quickly straightened up. The sudden movement caused Vegeta to snap out of whatever he was thinking and he looked down at Bulma. Before he could speak, Bulma's eyes suddenly widened as she pointed to their left. "Look, the game stalls are over there! Let's go have a look!" She tugged on his arm before the two of them made their way over to the stall.

"How many games would the pretty lady like to play?" the stall attendant asked Bulma. Bulma was deep in thought as she looked at the prizes in front of her. She then gasped and pointed at one of the prizes. "That pink rabbit is so cute! I really want to win that!"

Vegeta gave her a puzzled look, as if asking "Why would a rich girl like you want something like that?"

Bulma then looked disappointed when she saw the structure of the game. "I have to throw the dart at the bulls-eye three times to get the prize. And there are only four darts! That's never going to happen!" She was about to walk to another stall when she saw Vegeta giving some coins to the attendant for a game. "Vegeta, are you playing?"

Vegeta gave her a smirk as a response and picked up four darts. He then started aiming the first dart at the target. Bulma held her breath as she watched him throw the dart.

"It's a bulls-eye!" the stall attendant announced.

Bulma gave Vegeta a genuine proud smile as the stall attendant cleared the dart board for the next throw. Bulma then watched him aim the second dart.

"Another bulls-eye! Kid, you're a natural at this!"

It was not until the third bulls-eye in a row when Bulma's mouth hung open. "You're amazing, Vegeta!"

Vegeta turned his head towards her and gave her a smirk. "Precision is something that a true swordsman must obtain. That's what I learnt in Kendo at least." Vegeta then turned to the stall attendant. "I would like the pink bunny."

"But sir, you have one more dart left. If you get a fourth bulls-eye, you get a bigger prize!" the stall attendant looked rather confused

"In that case.." Vegeta aimed the last dart lower and it hit the wall beneath the target.

The stall attendant looked rather surprised as he quickly handed over the much-desired prize. Bulma was frozen in shock when the pink rabbit she wanted suddenly appeared in front of her.

Vegeta frowned when he noticed that Bulma did not move. "You don't want this anymore?"

"Of course I do!" Bulma quickly responded as she took the rabbit with both hands. "Th-thank you" she managed to stutter. She then took a capsule from her tiny purse and quickly encapsulated the item. At that moment, her heartbeat started to race at a fast rate and she could not help smiling at what had happened.

"So where would you like to go next?"

"Huh?" Bulma looked up, looking genuinely surprised that Vegeta was willing to escort her for longer. "Umm.. how about we grab some more snacks. I'm kind of hungry. Vegeta? Hey!" Bulma frowned when Vegeta started walking away, to the direction of the food stalls. Bulma quickly ran towards him, trying to catch up.

For the next two hours, Bulma felt like she was in a dream as she walked around in a daze with Vegeta next to her. They did not talk much during the time, but Bulma was not disappointed because Vegeta was able to cooperate with whatever she had wanted to do. And that made up for the lack of conversation. Bulma also found herself feeling more comfortable around Vegeta's presence. They had walked around almost every single stall at the festival.

Eventually, the two of them came across an extremely large tent and Bulma saw her friends waving towards her.

"Bulma! Vegeta! Over here!" Krillin shouted as he waved his arms in the air. Bulma came running towards him and the rest of the group. She then noticed that Jay was now present and he was wearing casual clothes.

"Hey Jay! Good to see you! Are you having fun?"

Jay gave her a little frown. "I sorta feel out of place since all of you guys are dressed up. But what the heck." He then shrugged.

Bulma laughed as she turned her attention to the tent.

"So what is this?" she asked curiously.

"This is somewhat unorthodox, but it's an ice-skating rink," Juu replied.

"An ice-rink? At a festival?" Bulma asked with surprise.

"Yeah, weird, eh? But it's different so we decided to check it out. Luckily you came along just in time. We were about to call you!" ChiChi said.

"Now that we're all here.. c'mon! Let's go inside!" Goku suddenly said enthusiastically as he headed into the tent. The rest of the group followed.

When everyone paid for the admission and put on their skates, Bulma found herself rather nervous as she entered the ice-rink. She grabbed onto the edge as soon as her skates touched the ice. She looked around to see that there were quite a lot of people skating. She frowned when she noticed most of her friends had already skated away in a carefree manner.

Bulma tried to skate forward but soon found herself squealing with terror as she quickly grabbed onto the edge once again to stop herself from falling.

"I take it that you can't skate, woman." A low voice suddenly appeared from behind.

Bulma frowned as did not bother to turn around. "I'm fine! I can do this myself." She then let go of the edge and made an attempt to skate only to find herself losing her balance and falling backward. But before she could fall, a strong pair of arms grabbed her around the waist from behind and pulled her to her feet.

"You're pathetic."

Bulma then angrily turned around and faced a smirking Vegeta. Her cheeks were red with embarrassment.

"Well, if you're so good at it, then why don't you teach me!" she said in a demanding voice.

She heard a chuckle as Vegeta suddenly grabbed her hand and started to slowly skate forward.

"Don't try to struggle or you'll lose your balance!" he ordered as he watched the blue-haired girl try to compose herself. "Look, you won't fall as long as I'm holding onto you. Now try to skate forward."

Bulma began to take slow strides as she started skating forward, guided by Vegeta. Deep down inside, her heart was completely flustered as she could feel Vegeta's warm hand clutched onto hers. Bulma took note that she was feeling this emotion quite often during the night. She then clutched Vegeta's hand tightly as she made a wobbly attempt to skate forward. Slowly, step by step, she began to quicken her strides. After one entire round around the rink, Bulma found herself more comfortable with the ice. "Hey, Vegeta! I think I can skate forward a lot better now!"

"Good" came his one word reply.

Bulma then realized that Vegeta was guiding her towards the center of the rink. She was soon standing at the center in front of Vegeta as the rest of the people were skating around them. Bulma felt a weird feeling in her stomach as she stood still and watch Vegeta suddenly lean forward, something that he had done a lot in the past.

A smirk then spread across his face. Bulma was not sure whether that was a good or bad thing.

"The next step is to learn to skate without holding onto anything."

Before Bulma could respond, Vegeta turned around and skated away, disappearing in the crowd. Bulma wanted to go after him and yell at him only to realize that she was too terrified to move. She was stranded in the middle of an ice rink with nothing to hold onto and she was scared that she would fall and possibly ruin her kimono. So instead, Bulma frantically looked around for her friends. Suddenly she felt a gentle tap behind her.

"Bulma? Is that you?"

Bulma turned around to find Yamcha, clad in his kimono, smiling down at her.

"Oh wow! You look absolutely stunning in your kimono," Yamcha complimented.

"Oh thank god you're here!" Bulma let out a sigh of relieve. "Do you think you could take me away from the center? I can't exactly skate."

Yamcha smiled at her. "Sure! Here.." He grabbed Bulma's hand and slowly led her back towards the edge of the rink.

Meanwhile, Vegeta was skating behind Goku and ChiChi when he quickly glanced at the center of the rink. He smirked as he saw that Bulma was no longer there and he suddenly caught a glimpse of blue hair from not far away. His smirk turned into a scowl when he saw Bulma with Yamcha. They seemed to be talking and laughing with one another as Yamcha held onto her hand and lead her towards the edge. Vegeta wondered to himself what she was doing with him. He decided that he would rather not find out and it was time for a break. Vegeta then skated towards the exit of the rink.

"Hey, Vegeta! Where are you going?" He heard Goku shout from behind.

"A drink break, Kakarot."

That was all he said before stepped off the rink.

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After the group had finished their ice-skating session, they had decided to sit around near the lake while waiting for the fireworks to start. Much to Bulma's dismay, Vegeta was nowhere to be seen. But Goku assured her that he was probably wandering around the stalls and would find the rest of the group later.

"I'm so curious how the fireworks will turn out!!" ChiChi squealed with excitement. She was also curious with how Bulma's little one-on-one time went with Vegeta, but that would have to wait until later when there was a little more privacy.

"Hey, Yamcha, when did you get here?" Krillin asked.

"Around seven. I came here with my little sister and my parents, although they have wandered off without me. But it's cool, you guys are more fun."

Bulma giggled. "You have a little sister? That's really cute."

"So how do you find this year's festival?" Yamcha asked to noone in particular.

"I think it's better than last year's," Juu replied. "More food, more stalls in general, and good entertainment."

"You're right. Hey, Jay, how come you're wearing casual?" Goku asked curiously.

Jay shrugged. "It was a last minute decision to come since my sister has been yapping on about it for awhile now. Maybe I'll dress up next year."

Bulma nodded. "Yeah, you should!! You'll look good in a Japanese robe!" She then turned to her friends. "I was surprised to see that you guys actually dressed up though, especially Vegeta!"

Goku chuckled. "You know he actually didn't want to, but I tried to convince him by saying that he would look like some kendo warrior from the past. And he finally agreed to it!"

As everyone laughed at Goku's comment, Yamcha suddenly looked curious. "Hey, does anyone know why he returned to Tokyo all of a sudden?"

"His parents probably got transferred for work or something."

"By the way, where the hell is Vegeta?" Krillin suddenly cut in.

Goku shrugged. "The last time I saw him was at the ice rink, he said he was grabbing a drink.

"But that was almost an hour ago! Where would he go?"

"Maybe you should give him a call, the fireworks are about to start any minute," Bulma insisted.

Goku nodded as he pulled out his cell phone. He was about to press the call button when the ground underneath him suddenly began to move. "What the hell-"

All of a sudden, the ground beneath everyone's feet suddenly started shaking more violently and soon everyone jumped to their feet.

"Earthquake!!!"

Screams filled the air as panic started to spread across the community. Bulma's heart almost jumped out of her throat from fear as she stood frozen and watched the frantic faces of the people scramble around her.

"Bulma, c'mon! It's dangerous out here!" Yamcha quickly grabbed her arm and the two of them followed the rest of the group towards an open area away from the poles and stalls. Bulma's vision seemed like a blur and what was happening barely registered in her mind as she made her way towards an open park. Several thoughts ran through her mind. The first person that came to mind had been Vegeta. Where was he? Was he safe? Could he be trapped somewhere? Possibly stranded? Bulma began to whimper at the thoughts as the ground trembled beneath her.

The group then huddled together, along with hundreds of other people, until the shaking started to slow down and eventually cease completely.

Bulma breathed loudly as she dared to open her eyes and she stood up. All around her, people were relieved that the earthquake had finally stopped. Bulma then turned towards the direction of the festival that was in the far distance and was shocked to see the messy state that it was suddenly in. A lot of stalls had collapsed and there were a few poles that toppled over. Several vehicles were also flipped to the side.

"Bulma, are you okay?"

Bulma then looked behind and saw Yamcha looking gravely concerned. Suddenly, Bulma realized that she had been trembling and soon tears started to form at the brim of her eyes. "I was so.. scared.." she managed to whisper as she stared at Yamcha. "I thought I was going to die.." The tears then fell down and Bulma soon found herself crying onto Yamcha's chest. His arms were around her shoulders, trying to comfort her. But Bulma could only feel herself drowning in her frightened state. _How could this have happened? And Vegeta's not here! What if something had happened to him!_

Meanwhile..

Vegeta was pushing past a crowd of people but found it rather difficult as everyone else was going the other direction, trying to make their exit. But that made Vegeta only angry as he kept moving. When the earthquake happened, only one person had been on Vegeta's mind. _Bulma.._ And now that the ground was finally calm, he just had to know if she was safe. Vegeta suddenly caught a glimpse of blonde hair not too far in front and he managed to push and shove through a stampede of people as the blonde came into full view. From the distance, Vegeta watched as Juu was being comforted by both Krillin and her brother. Next to them was ChiChi and Goku in a tight embrace. It had been clear that she was completely shocked by the sudden earthquake. Vegeta then scanned the area for the woman that had been constantly on his mind.

And then he saw her. Crying on Yamcha's shoulders. His once mortal enemy.

Vegeta stopped in his tracks and scowled as he watched Yamcha pat Bulma on the back while whispering comforting words to her ears. It was enough for him to want to march over there and punch the daylights out of Yamcha. But Vegeta controlled himself as he knew this was not a good time. After all, how could _he_ blame her for seeking comfort in others when he was not there for her at such a devastating moment in time. _So you're being taken care of.._

Vegeta gave Bulma one last look before turning around and decided that it was time to retreat back to his home.

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"I still can't believe what happened. I couldn't even sleep last night! I'm still in shock right now."

It was now the morning after the Autumn Star Festival and the earthquake that hit the west of Tokyo had been the topic of everyone's conversations. It had been all over the news in the morning and on every single large screen that Bulma had drove by.

"They're trying to say that it was a technical error as they had failed to detect it on their monitors before it was too late. But now they're taking extra preventative steps so it won't happen ever again." Goku folded up the newspaper after he informed his friends of what he just read.

"Bullshit! It's never happened before! Seven people died while thirty-two others are injured. They're just trying to cover it up!" Krillin managed to protest.

"For once, I agree with cue-ball," Vegeta also managed to add, earning a glare from Krillin.

"Shut up, Vegeta! You weren't even there when it happened since you went home during ice-skating!"

Vegeta frowned, as he wondered whether anyone could see through the little lie he had told his friends earlier.

Goku then tried to calm everyone down. "Look guys, this isn't the time to argue. I know this is hard but we need to try to put this behind us."

"Well, I hope the school camp trip isn't cancelled because of this," Bulma muttered bitterly.

"Relax, Bulma, that's like a month away. This whole thing will blow over soon," Juu assured her friend.

"Yeah, even technology fails once in awhile. But we can't dwell on it forever," Goku added.

The school bell rang and everyone began to shuffle inside the school building to attend their first period.

Bulma cringed as she walked into her classroom. First period for her was Geography and she absolutely hated that subject. Not only did she hate that subject, but it was the only class she shared with Vegeta. And to make matters worse, he seemed to be angry with her for some reason. When she greeted him in the morning, he did not even respond and only frowned. And when they were sitting with the rest of the group before class, he did not even look at her once.

Bulma frowned as she slumped into her seat. She started unpacking her things when she noticed Vegeta had taken the seat next hers. Perhaps it had been out of old habit. Bulma stared at him and tried to get him to turn his head to her direction, but instead he just looked forward with no expression on his face whatsoever. Bulma then decided that it was time to give in.

"Are you angry with anything in particular?"

Vegeta then finally turned his head and looked at her in the eyes. But Bulma was shocked when, for the first time in her life, she looked into them and saw nothing but coldness and hatred.

"No, I'm not," he then responded. Well, it was rather a growl than a proper response.

Bulma let out a deep sigh as the teacher suddenly walked into the room to begin the class.

"Good morning, class. Now I know the festival last night must have been very terrifying considering the circumstances. And I'm sure most of you were present at the time." The teacher paused as she pushed her thick black-framed glasses upwards. "But school must go on, and so here are the papers from last week's test."

The class began to groan as the teacher started to hand the papers back.

When Bulma received hers, she saw a large red 32 at the top of the page. Another failure to add to her ever-growing collection. Bulma suddenly noticed Vegeta frowning next to her.

"What?" Bulma suddenly snapped.

Vegeta's frown turned into an evil smirk. "Oh nothing. I just see that the great nerd has finally fallen. It's tragic, really. My condolences."

Bulma let out a frustrated growl as she scrunched up her paper and stuffed it in her bag. "Who cares? I fell asleep during that test. I wouldn't care less about the capital city of a country that no longer exists!"

Suddenly the teacher appeared in front of Vegeta and smiled at him as she handed him his paper. "I'm very pleased with your results, Vegeta." She said with a nod before walking away.

Bulma's eyes widened when she saw a large "98" at the top of his paper.

"What the fuck! You weren't even at this school last week!" Bulma exclaimed.

"No, I wasn't. But the annoying sensei made me do the paper the first day I arrived. So I did."

"But.. you didn't even have time to prepare for this!"

Vegeta shrugged. "It's not that hard, is it? Oh wait, I forgot." He then turned to Bulma. "You've turned into a brainless and materialistic baka since the last time I saw you."

He then turned his head back to the front and ignored the violent reactions he got. Instead, he decided to block whatever she had to say out of his mind. He knew that he had just struck a nerve.

After all, he had intended to.

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_Vegeta slowly started to walk forward as he felt a sense of eeriness in the large empty room. He then gently lifted one arm forward and twisted the knob of the door. As the door creaked open, Vegeta's eyes suddenly widened with shock._

_A pool of blood lay on the floor as he saw droplets slowly trickle into the crimson puddle. His eyes slowly followed its source and he gasped loudly at the sight. He saw a thick patch of hair covering the face of the person in the room. Vegeta slowly took a step inside as his arms reached forward to uncover the hair when suddenly the body fell to his feet. He then saw the face. It was-_

Vegeta's eyes suddenly shot open as he quickly sat up. He then looked around and came to the conclusion that he was in his room, on his bed. He looked at his clock and it read 1:38am. He then realized that it was just a dream. The same dream that had been haunting him for a long time. Breathing heavily, he quickly ran one hand through his hair as he noticed that he was now drenched in sweat. Quietly muttering to himself, Vegeta then got out of his bed and headed towards his bathroom to grab a towel.

After he was done cleaning himself up, Vegeta went back to his bed. He rested his head on both of his arms as he recalled the dream he had.

"When the hell will I be able to forget?" He muttered to himself before he lied back down onto his bed. He then closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep. But he knew that for the rest of the night, sleep would be the last thing that happened.

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**A/N:** What could Vegeta's dream mean? Does it have anything to do with his past? Why he left Tokyo in the first place, perhaps? You'll just have to cross your fingers and wait for the answers to be revealed!

So what did you guys think about the chapter? Please leave a review!! It will really help me update faster, I promise!!

Coming up next chapter: It is finally the time for the anticipated school camp trip! Bulma finally starts to open up to Vegeta about what has happened in the three year gap. Will they admit their feelings for one another?


	6. The School Camp Trip

**A/N:** Hey guys!! I'm back with a brand new chapter!!

So first up is of course to say a big thank you to all the people who took the time to review the last chapter: JeMS7, Aqua Master, Crazedchocolatefan, Cilvanti, gotensgurl97, Shortie01, DBZ maineak, and Shugosha. You guys all rock!!

And to address some questions/issues:

JeMS7: Vegeta's dream is a memory from his past that is set sometime during the 3 year gap.

Shugosha: I'll try to make the time-skipping less confusing (sorry about that!! ), and I'll keep a look out for grammatical errors (or at least get Microsoft word to fix it lol).

Now I think that's everything that needs to be said. Please enjoy the chapter!!

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**Chapter Five: The School Camp Trip**

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A month had passed by since the earthquake had terrorized the many lives of the Tokyo population. Things were now finally starting to function normally as the infra-structures that were damaged during the devastation was fully restored and the civilians had put the incident behind them. It was as if the earthquake never happened in the first place.

It was now an early Monday morning as Bulma Briefs stood in front of her mirror while brushing her long blue hair. She had been anticipating on the school camp trip for the past fortnight and the day finally arrived. Bulma smiled as she then began to organize the capsules that she had used to store the things she needed for the camp trip. It had been rather difficult for her to decide which things to pack the night before, but she was more worried about what might happen during the week long trip.

Bulma started to feel a little flustered when the thought of a particular young male crossed her mind. She then glanced at the small pink toy rabbit that lay innocently on her freshly made bed. Ever since the Autumn Star Festival, Vegeta had seemed to be keeping his distance. It was not that he was making a considerable amount of effort to avoid her at school, but rather that when she _did_ talk to him, she somehow sensed an invisible wall between the two of them. She was not sure why the sudden change occurred since he had been acting rather kind during the festival. But she came to the conclusion that he had major mood swings that seemed to challenge her own temperament.

As Bulma picked up her bag, she quietly made her way downstairs, keeping note that the glass elevator needed some maintenance. When she stepped into the kitchen, she noticed that both her parents were present at the large breakfast table. They were both sitting on opposite sides of the table doing their own things. Dr. Briefs had been reading a newspaper while Amelia Briefs was reading a women's magazine.

"Good morning," Bulma said softly as she slid quietly into her seat. As soon as she sat down, a maid-bot brought her a large plate of breakfast and a tall glass of fruit smoothie. As Bulma took a few bites of her breakfast, she noticed that her father was looking quite angry. But she decided not to pursue the matter as she did not want to cause any arguments. Halfway through eating her breakfast, however, Dr. Briefs suddenly put down his newspaper and turned his attention to his daughter.

He then questioned her, his voice was filled with a hint of anger. "Tell me, Bulma, what have you been doing everyday at school?"

Bulma blinked and stared at him in confusion. "At school? I don't get the question.."

Bulma flinched when Dr. Briefs' hand suddenly slammed down the table, causing some of the plates to jump. This also grabbed the attention of Bulma's mother.

"Dear, what is with this ruckus? For heaven's sake, it's too early in the morning!" Amelia began to protest to her husband. However, her husband suddenly pointed his finger at her.

"You! Keep your mouth shut! Keep in mind that I also hold YOU responsible for your daughter's behaviour," Dr. Briefs snapped.

Bulma stared at him in confusion. "Dad? What are you talking about?"

Dr. Briefs quickly got out of his seat and took out a letter that was on the kitchen bench. "This," he said while waving the letter in front of his face. "Your school sent it to me out of concern of your grades. You have failed almost half of your subjects. So now it's your turn for an explanation. What is the meaning of this?"

Bulma began to gulp as she thought about her dad's question. "Well, dad.. Maybe I'm not enjoying some of the subjects at school because I don't see any relevance to it so-"

"Relevance!" Her father spat with anger as he interrupted her. "This has nothing to do with relevance, young lady. You are the heiress of Capsule Corporation. I will NOT be made a fool out of having a daughter who could barely pass high school! Do you understand?"

"But dad!" Bulma protested. "Grades don't mean anything. You've seen my performance in the lab, haven't you? You even said so yourself that I've grasped the technology really quickly. Heck, I've even came up with the designs for-" Bulma stopped mid-sentence when she felt her head suddenly swing to the left. Her eyes widened when she came to terms with what had just happened. Her father had just backhanded her across the cheek.

"Don't talk back, you rude child!" Dr. Briefs angrily said as veins started to pop from his forehead underneath his thinning purple hair.

"Henry!" Amelia gasped as she quickly ran next to her daughter to check the damages made. "She's your daughter! How could you be so callous towards her?"

"This is the reason why she has lost interest in school! You have spoilt her for far too long!"

Bulma's eyes started to brim with tears as she felt her cheek burn and sting. She did not want to be in the middle of this. Not now. She could not comprehend why it had to be this morning, the beginning of a supposed fun camp trip, had to start this way.

"I have to go now," she managed to say weakly with a slight tremor in her voice.

"Bulma.." Amelia began to protest.

Bulma shook her head and gave her mother a frail smile. "I'm fine. I'm going to be late if I don't leave now. I will see you both at the end of the week."

Bulma then picked up her bag and walked out of the house, away from the tainted and crumbling entity that once was her family.

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"So I was doing some research on the facilities last night. The accommodation seemed a little rusty BUT the activities looked fun. Just imagine, we'll get to do some of the stuff our great grandparents did back in the days."

ChiChi rolled her eyes. "But Juu, you're such an outdoor person so of course you'll think it's 'fun'. But me on the other hand.. I don't know.. It kinda sounds dangerous."

"Don't worry, ChiChi. I'll protect you!"

Juu ignored Goku's sudden input and shook her head. "Oh c'mon! Where's your sense of adventure?"

While the two girls were talking about the camp trip, Bulma sat quietly next to the window as she stared outside. It had been almost an hour since the grade boarded the express coach that flew them to the designated camp outside of Tokyo. After the fight with her parents, Bulma's mood had changed to an all time low as she barely talked during the flight so far.

"Hey, is everything okay?" Krillin, who had been sitting beside her, looked at her with concern.

Bulma turned her head and gave her friend a small smile. "I'm fine Krillin, just had a bit of a fight with my parents this morning over my grades. But it's something I'd rather not discuss right now."

"Oh." Krillin had known that Bulma was a little touchy when it came to talking about her parents so he decided to leave it at that. "Hey, how's you and Vegeta getting along?"

Bulma glanced over her shoulder and saw the male in reference sitting one row behind next to Goku. "Well, it's getting a bit better I guess. I mean, rather than being an ass he's actually talking to me in a civilized manner."

"That's good to hear! Maybe you guys should spend more time with each other during the camp trip."

Bulma stared at Krillin. "I don't know if that's possible. I mean, that guy sometimes acts like he doesn't wanna have anything to do with me."

"Give it some time and I'm sure he'll open up to you. Maybe you could ask Goku for advice. He seems like a pretty close friend to Vegeta."

"We'll see what happens. But I don't wanna spend this camp trip worrying over Vegeta. I just want to have some fun!" Bulma then started to smile.

"That's the spirit! Let's enjoy the week with no parents bugging us!"

Bulma couldn't help but laugh at Krillin's enthusiasm, but that was what she liked about him. No matter what situation they were in, he would always somehow brighten her thoughts and cheer her up.

"Do you wanna play my PSP4d? I've got a new game installed that you would like. Tekken: The New Generation!" Krillin held up a small handheld device.

Bulma nodded. "I love Tekken! Let's verse each other!"

Bulma took one of the controllers and the two began to battle in their small game world.

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When the grade arrived at their destination, they found themselves in the middle of a rather "tropical" area, or at least as vegetative as Japan could get. The camp area was surrounded by tall trees and bushes while a long lake was situated right next to the grounds. As soon as the group got the main meeting area of the camp, they were quickly allocated their cabin rooms. Bulma, ChiChi, and Juu managed to get an entire cabin to themselves while Goku, Krillin, Vegeta, and Jay shared a cabin next door.

The girls were handed their cabin keys by their assigned camp group leader and the three of them quickly headed to their designated cabin.

"Wow! Look at this room! I feel like I'm stepping inside a vintage movie," Juu commented with excitement as the girls stepped inside their cabin. It consisted of three double beds, a bathroom, and a small kitchen area with a sink, fridge, and microwave.

ChiChi then stuck her head into the bathroom. "I know! Look at the toilet seat! There are no buttons on it! Just this thing you press to flush it."

"And look at this fridge!" Bulma said as she was standing in the kitchen area. "There's only cold and freezing. What if we want to keep our food warm? And where's the electronic memo pad at the front? I thought that was a basic standard!"

Juu then sat down on her bed and leaned back. "This bed is comfortable though. This is going to be one exciting week!"

Bulma rolled her eyes as she began to unpack her things. She walked towards an empty space in the corner of her room and held a capsule in front of her. A hologram of a small closet came into view. Bulma started shifting the capsule until the hologram was in the position she wanted. She pressed a button and suddenly the closet materialized in front of her.

"Wow, your closet is huge! You really couldn't decide what to bring, could you Bulma?" ChiChi asked with a little surprise.

Bulma shrugged. "I figured it was better to be safe than sorry."

Juu gave her watch a quick glance. "Hey, we better hurry up and unpack. We're supposed to meet up near the entrance in 15 minutes for activity assignment."

The girls then began to scramble across the room while trying to de-capsule their belongings as well as sorting out other items.

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Once the gang had joined the rest of the students at the large meeting hall with the camp's head counselor, the students were quickly assigned their afternoon activities.

As Bulma and the rest of the gang headed towards the lake where their activity had been awaiting them, Bulma quickly glanced at Vegeta, who she had been trailing behind. He had not spoken a word to her since they had arrived. She was starting to wonder whether he was somewhat annoyed. She was so caught up with her thoughts that she did not even notice when the beautiful lake suddenly came to view

"Okay, here we are!" the camp activity leader, who was assigned to their group, chirped loudly as they approached the long lake. "Ta da!" The short woman then waved her arms in front of the wharf, which consisted of many canoes. "Now assign yourselves in pairs so we can get the activity started!"

Bulma frowned as the small group of students around her started to shuffle around. It had been obvious that ChiChi was going to pair up with Goku. Krillin and Juu were also an observable duo. Which left her the choice between Jay and Vegeta. Unfortunately for Bulma, Jay was soon out of the question when he quickly paired up with another girl in the group. This left Bulma fuming._ It's a conspiracy! ChiChi must have hatched some sort of plan!_

"So once again, this leaves just the two of us."

Bulma quickly turned to face a frowning Vegeta. She then gave him an indifferent look and shrugged. "I guess there's no choice. C'mon, let's get to our canoe."

When the two of them reached to their canoe, Bulma started to hesitate as she stepped inside with her shaky legs.

"Is this even safe?" She asked warily.

"Probably not."

Bulma frowned as Vegeta took the seat in front of her. "Well I'm just warning you in advance that I can't swim, so don't do anything rash."

Vegeta turned around and gave her a smirk. "Then you better not fall in, because I'm telling _you_ in advance that I won't come to your rescue."

Before Bulma could open her mouth to respond, the group leader suddenly appeared on the wharf behind their canoe.

"Okay, kiddos, I'm going to untie the rope so hold onto your paddles. This is a game of cooperation so you have to work together as a team to get to the other end." Having said that, the camp leader untied the rope with one quick pull.

Bulma started squealing in terror as the canoe suddenly rushed down the lake, following the swift flow of the current.

"Stop the screeching, woman! Help me paddle so we don't crash onto the edge," Vegeta suddenly ordered.

"Yes, sir," Bulma muttered sarcastically as she grabbed her paddle and began moving it across the water. She stared at the sun blazing over their heads as she let out a quick sigh.

Unknown to Bulma, ChiChi and Goku's canoe was not far behind.

"Look at those two lovebirds! When are they going to just admit their feelings for one another and get together!" ChiChi cooed as she spied from the distance. She had seemed to have forgotten where she was as Goku sat behind her with both paddles in tow and desperately trying to move both at once.

"Yeah, ChiChi. It would be good. Saves us from having to watch all the drama," Goku managed to reply through his struggle.

ChiChi let out a deep sigh. "I was actually confused as to whether it was Yamcha or Vegeta who would make a better match. But then one night I came to the conclusion that what mattered was who she actually loved. And we all know it's Vegeta." ChiChi then began to frown as she got no response. She turned around. "Goku? Are you alright?"

"Yep, I'm fine." Goku's breathing was starting to sound laboured. "But I don't think I can take on the current alone."

"Oh!" ChiChi gasped as she took her side of the paddle. " Sorry Goku! I guess I got a little carried away."

"It's fine, sweet-peas," Goku said before giving his girlfriend a quick cuddle from behind with his now free arm. His facial expression suddenly turned to confusion. "Why aren't those two wearing their life vests?"

"Hey, you're right! They probably forgot that it was underneath their seats," ChiChi replied as she leaned back a little.

Several minutes later, Goku began to frown as he started squinting his eyes. "Hey, ChiChi, they don't look like lovebirds anymore."

ChiChi looked at Goku's direction and saw the angry expressions on both Bulma and Vegeta's faces. "They seem pretty pissed off. I wonder what they're suddenly arguing about?"

**Meanwhile..**

Bulma began to stop paddling as she gave out a frustrated growl. "You're so annoying Vegeta! Quit trying to demoralize me all the time!"

"I demoralize you? I'm merely suggesting that you paddle at the right pace so our canoe isn't going in zigzag," Vegeta responded as he turned his head to face her with a frown.

"I already told this is how hard I can paddle! I'm not used to such strenuous activities! What do you expect?" Bulma glared back.

"Strenuous? Well aren't you quite the _princess_." The last word was emphasized with a sarcastic tone.

"Shut up! I don't care! I simply give up!" She then threw her paddle onto the side.

"Since when did you give up so easily?"

Bulma's eyes slightly widened as she wondered at Vegeta's question. Although the question did not have any other agendas, it still reminded Bulma of junior high for some odd reason. So instead of giving him an answer, Bulma simply evaded the question by folding her arms. "Well you know what? I just can't do it. I can barely see what's in front of me! And I blame your stupid hair!" Bulma then began to stand up.

Vegeta was alarmed as the canoe started rocking a little due to Bulma's poor balance. "Woman, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Switch positions with me! I just can't see anything when I sit behind you!" Bulma demanded.

"No! And you're going to sit down right this minute! It's dangerous!"

"Then stop trying to argue with me and just switch places!"

As the two continued their verbal sparring match, the canoe started to rock more violently. Suddenly, Bulma lost her balance as she fell to one side.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

Bulma's entire body then toppled over the canoe and came crashing down into the icy water.

"I was serious when I said I can't swim!!!" she screamed as she began to struggle in the freezing water.

Vegeta's eyes widened in horror when he saw Bulma slowly sinking beneath the surface. Without thinking twice, Vegeta quickly stood up from his seat and swiftly dived into the water.

As Bulma continued her thrashing about, she felt that she could no longer keep her body above the surface. She began to cough as water started to slowly enter her mouth. Fortunately for her, a pair of strong arms grabbed her around the waist and began hoisting her back above the surface.

"Keep calm, I'm not going to let you drown." She heard a deep voice in her ear as she shivered through the cold water.

Vegeta tried to swim to the edge as quickly as he could but it was rather difficult with the strong current pushing against their bodies.

"I'm sorry." Bulma's voice was barely a whisper.

Vegeta looked down at the shivering girl in his arms and saw that tears started to soak through her eyes. It seemed that she had finally realized the consequences of her action.

"We'll be on land soon." Vegeta tried to sound as reassuring as he could while tightening his grip around Bulma's waist. He soon felt her tension start to diminish.

A few minutes later, Vegeta finally got to shore as he lifted Bulma onto the soft grass before climbing up himself. He was breathing heavily as he took off his soaked shirt and glared at the sun above him. It was only the first day of the camp trip and disaster had already struck. He wondered how the rest of the week would turn out.

A sneeze suddenly snapped Vegeta out of his thoughts when he noticed the blue-haired girl beside him was trembling. Vegeta quickly gathered her in his arms as he gently swept a few strands of wet hair from her face. "Did you catch a cold?"

Bulma gave a weak nod. Her eyes began to expand as she realized that her head was now resting against his _bare_ muscular chest. Bulma smiled as she felt the warmth of his body radiate towards her. Soon, she started to feel the warmth completely engulf her. Deep down inside, she had wished that this moment would last forever. Still smiling, Bulma began to close her eyes and drifted into a feverish sleep.

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Bulma was bed-ridden for the next few days as she had come down with the flu from the canoeing incident. After the camp's head counselor had discovered what had happened down by the river, Vegeta, much to his dismay, was sent to the counselor's office and given a lecture of the dangers of not wearing life vests during water activities. After Vegeta had stepped out of the office, the rest of the group noticed that his mood had turned sour. And his disposition had remained unpleasant for the next few days as he barely talked to any of his friends. Nobody could figure out why.

As for the girls, they often thought about possible theories explaining Vegeta's mood swings.

"Knowing Vegeta, he's probably angry with himself for what happened to Bulma, especially since it could have been prevented," ChiChi suggested as she carried a tray of food in front of her.

Juu, who had been walking beside her, nodded with agreement. "But I just don't understand why he has refused to see her. They're still friends after all. He should pay her a visit at least once."

When the two girls arrived outside the dorm, Juu opened the door and peered inside.

"Bulma, are you awake? We brought you some dinner."

The room was dark but Juu could see Bulma's dark figure from the dim glow of the moonlight. Bulma was sitting up on her bed and staring outside the window next to her. Bulma turned her head and smiled at them. "Hey guys, thank you for stopping by."

"How are you feeling at the moment?" ChiChi asked as she gently set the tray down on the table next to Bulma's bed.

"Much better, the doctor said that my fever is gone and it would be okay for me to join in with the activities starting from tomorrow." Bulma then gave her friend a sad look. "But I've already missed out on so much. I mean, we'll have to return back home in 2 days time."

"Don't worry, Bulma. We can still have lots of fun in the remaining few days," Juu said in a reassuring voice.

"Yeah, and it's not like you missed out on all that much. That one day hike was sort of torturous if you ask me. And whoever invented rock-climbing must have been one crazy person," ChiChi added as she stuck her tongue out at Juu.

Bulma smiled. "Damn, I did seem to miss out on quite a bit. What is everyone doing tonight?"

"I'm not sure actually, but apparently there's going to be some sort of activity outside the main hall," ChiChi responded.

"If you're feeling up for it, you should really consider joining us later," Juu added.

Bulma nodded while giving her friends a small smile. "Thanks guys. By the way," Bulma paused a little before continuing her question. "Do you think that Vegeta is still mad at me?"

"Oh sweetie, don't get so caught up into thinking that. Me and Juu were just discussing this earlier. We think he's more mad at himself than at you," ChiChi said in a soothing voice as sat at the edge of Bulma's bed.

Bulma gave her best friend a sad smile and slowly shook her head. "I wish that was the case, but I think I know the real reason. He's angry at me because I started it. I was the stubborn one who refused to cooperate with the whole teamwork concept. And that probably offended him somehow. Back in junior high, we were the ultimate team who topped all our class activities with our joined efforts. But now we can't even row a stupid canoe together. And that's probably why he's so pissed off."

"Oh." Both ChiChi and Juu looked rather awkward as they did not know how to respond to the new information they had just received.

Bulma let out a sigh as she slightly frowned. "It's okay guys, I think that eventually he'll get over it. So anyway.." Bulma paused as she picked up a plate of food from the tray next to her bed. "Thanks for bringing dinner over. But right now you guys are missing out on your own so you two should head back to the dining hall."

ChiChi gave Bulma a worried look. "Are you sure you're okay eating here by yourself? We don't mind staying here for longer to keep you company."

Bulma shook her head and gave her friend a smile. "I'll be fine, seriously. You guys don't have to check up on me that much! I feel bad. I really need to take a shower after I eat this anyway.

I'll probably see you guys later."

ChiChi nodded and gave her friend a hug. "Okay, we'll head back now. We'll see you in awhile."

Bulma nodded as she waved goodbye to her two friends. After they left, Bulma decided to quickly finish her meal so she could take a much desired hot shower.

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After Bulma had stepped out of the bathroom, she heard a loud knock on the door. Quickly putting a cropped jacket over her short summer dress, Bulma walked towards the door and opened it. Standing in front of her was a tall boy holding a drink in his hand.

"Oh hi Jay, what's up?" Bulma greeted with a smile.

Jay smiled back as he took a sip from his can of cola. "I just wanted to check up on you. Juu said you were feeling better now so I thought you might wanna come to the main hall of the camp. They're having a bonfire outside if you're interested."

"Thanks for informing me! I might join you guys later. But right now I need to clean up my part of the room first. It's a complete mess!"

Jay gave her a thumbs-up. "No worries, man. You're feeling better, right?"

Bulma nodded. "Yeah! By the way, I'm really thirsty right now. Give me a sip." She then took the can from Jay's hand and took a deep gulp. However, as soon as her taste buds picked up the flavor, she almost choked. "What the heck is this?" Bulma questioned as she stuck her tongue out slightly in disgust.

Jay gave out a loud laugh before giving her a wink. "Booze."

Bulma glared at the boy in front of her. "You had the audacity to sneak alcohol into the camp?"

Jay nodded, giving her a smirk. "Yep, so if you ever feel the need to get hammered, just pop by my cabin."

Bulma raised one eyebrow as she gave him a strange look. "Sure.. Umm.. thanks for the offer."

"Well, anyway, I'll catch you later! Come by soon!" Jay gave a quick wave before turning around.

"Alright, I'll see you guys soon!" Bulma waved as she watched Jay leave. She was about to close the door when she noticed a dark figure sitting by the porch of the cabin next door. One closer look revealed that it was Vegeta. He was staring up at the moon, which cast several shadows on his well-defined face. Bulma held her breath as she caught herself being mesmerized by how handsome and tranquil he looked. From his facial expression, he had appeared to be deep in thought.

Without knowing why, Bulma walked down the steps of her own porch and began strolled towards the boys' cabin. Vegeta sensed her presence but did not look at her direction as he kept staring at the moon.

"Hey," Bulma said quietly as she sat down next to Vegeta. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with the others at the bonfire?" Vegeta did not even blink at her questions.

"I did not feel like going," was the only retort she received.

Bulma frowned as she followed Vegeta's gaze and stared at the starless sky. "Are you still mad at me for what happened during the canoeing activity?" When she got no response, she continued. "Look, I'm truly sorry for that day. I admit that it was completely my fault. So please don't be mad anymore. You saved my life and I'm really grateful for that."

Vegeta slowly turned his head towards Bulma, looking as if he had not been listening to what she had said.

Feeling a little uneasy, Bulma asked, "What's wrong?"

"Tell me, what happened to you?" Vegeta's voice was icy cold.

"Huh?" Bulma stared into Vegeta eyes with confusion, somehow hoping that she could find some sense in his question. But instead, his dark pupils only glared intensely back at her.

"You've changed. I want to know why." Again, his question was direct and his voice was cold but soft.

Bulma however, was a little taken aback by the question. "Well.. I guess I have changed quite a lot since three years ago. I think I've just grown up."

"You have not grown up, you are spoilt and selfish."

Bulma let out a loud gasp at his cruel words. "I am not spoilt! Nor am I selfish! Yes, I admit I own better things than the average person. But that doesn't mean I'm either of those things!"

Vegeta's facial expression did not alter. "You cannot accept the black truth, woman?"

Bulma started to feel the anger boil inside her. "Who are you to make those sorts of judgments? You don't even know what I've been through! You think my life is so perfect? You don't even know what my parents are like behind closed doors!"

Vegeta gave her a confused look. "Your parents?"

Bulma nodded as her face began to sadden. "I've never really talked about this with anyone. But the truth is, my parents barely acknowledge my existence. Ever since I was a little girl, they have always been too busy for me. They had always prioritized work over me. They never attended anything for my sake or gave me the emotional support I needed. They always left me alone to fend for myself, something I hated so much but had no choice. And now they think they can keep me happy by giving me whatever I want. But it's not that easy."

Vegeta raised one eyebrow and gave her an odd glance. "Oh? And am I supposed to sympathize with your juvenile story?"

Bulma bit her lip to control her anger. "I don't need your pity, Vegeta."

Vegeta frowned. "I don't pity you. But I do wonder, what exactly do you expect from your parents?"

Bulma's eyes narrowed as she glared at Vegeta. "What are you trying to say? That I deserve this?"

Vegea shook his head. "No, but from what you've told me, your parents just sound like very busy people. Sometimes adults are too ambitious that they lose sight of their family's needs. Perhaps your parents worked really hard so they could provide a living for you?"

Bulma slightly frowned. "Yes, I admit that they've gone a long way. But look at what they've achieved overall? They weren't even willing to take one minute out of their busy lives to acknowledge my existence. To even ask me how my day was. To tell me they were proud of me. But at the expense of a broken family, tell me, is it worth it?"

"I think your parents realize that somehow. And they are trying to compensate for their lack of involvement in your life. What more do you want?"

Bulma shook her head. "I thought that if I could ask them for anything I wanted, it would somehow make up for all the wrongs in the past. But no matter how much money is being spent, it can never replace a parent's love. I spent my whole life trying to gain their acknowledgement of me." Bulma swallowed hard, trying to hold back her tears. "I only wanted to hear them tell me how proud they were. Just once. But they never have. Not once in my life. No matter how hard I tried, whether it was getting extraordinary grades or improving some of my dad's designs. I realize now that they will _never_ acknowledge that. And what I really want in this world, money cannot buy. That's the cold harsh truth of this bitter world."

"So what are you going to do instead?" Vegeta questioned.

Bulma shrugged at his query. "I really don't know. I tried to cope with all that, by building up this picture perfect image of myself so I could make-belief that my life was really something to envy. I thought that it would somehow make me feel better. By blocking out the negative things in my life, I thought that's how I could get by."

"Then why don't you stop running away and just accept your life as it is?"

Bulma's eyes widened when she heard Vegeta's suggestion. It was not that the suggestion itself brought upon an epiphany, but rather that he had said it in such a matter-of-fact tone. It seemed almost.. _Unsympathetic_. Yes, Bulma had come to the conclusion that Vegeta did not seem to care at all about her parental situation. _He just thinks I'm some stupid bimbo girl whose problems hold no worth_. Bulma was angry at the thought. She quickly stood up and walked in front of Vegeta, her face was full of rage as she glared down at him.

"Why are you so heartless?" Bulma suddenly demanded.

Vegeta looked up to meet her glare, his eyes were filled with a hint of confusion. "Me? Heartless? I'm simply giving you some advice on your situation. You tell me that your parents do not care about you, yet they give you everything a girl your age could possibly want. Why don't you accept that not all parents are what you want them to be? Woman, this only proves how selfish you really are."

Bulma's mouth dropped open. She was so furious that she wanted to kick him hard and hurl insults at him but refrained herself. "So this is what I get for pouring my heart out to you? Well, that's the LAST time I'm doing that! Fuck you, Vegeta! You're too cold-blooded to see anything skin-deep! Just 'cause you have nice parents, you wouldn't understand where I'm coming from! You don't even know how to put yourself in someone else's shoes! It's because you're too simple minded! Not everything works as easily as you put it!"

Bulma quickly took a step back when Vegeta suddenly stood up. She gulped as she watched him scowl and he glared at her so callously it made her shiver. Bulma wondered if she had gone too far with her little outburst.

"You accuse me of being too simple minded and you judge my life. Based on what? Your foolish observations? For your information, I moved back to Tokyo _alone_. Without my parents." He then took a step forward and leaned down to Bulma's ears, his voice was dripping with hatred. "You could not even fathom the reality of the _real_ world, let alone _survive_ it." Having said that, Vegeta then walked off, brushing past a shocked Bulma as he made his exit from the cabin area.

Bulma did not budge from her position as her mind was trying to come to terms with the information he had exposed to her. _Vegeta said he moved here alone. I didn't even know.. And I said all those horrible things to him_. So many questions popped up in her head and she knew they were going to be left unanswered for awhile. After a brief moment, Bulma decided that she was too tired for any activities for the remainder of the night and wanted to avoid Vegeta for as long as she could. Bulma then walked back to the cabin to rest and prayed that she could take her mind off Vegeta.

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Later that evening, a few hours after lights off was announced throughout the camp, all the students were asleep in their designated cabins. A sweat-filled Vegeta was found tossing and turning on his bed. Although he was not awake consciously, his mind was filled with terror as it was blazing with haunting memories.

_The body hit the floor hard as blood spluttered against the white walls. Vegeta stood there in shock as he stared at the crimson speckled surroundings. He then took a step forward, closer to the disfigured body that lay at his feet. With an outstretched arm, Vegeta leaned forward to sweep the long strands of hair but paused when something that glistened under the moonlight caught his eyes. Vegeta froze as he saw the silver bracelet wrapped around the corpse's fragile wrist. A trinket was also attached to the bracelet. A silver padlock. _

_Vegeta's eyes widened. _

"_No.." The words barely escaped his mouth. He did not want to believe it. How could it be possible?_

_With trembling fingers, Vegeta swept the figure's long hair to the side.. _

_And then he saw her face._

Vegeta's body shot up as he looked around his room while breathing heavily. He then noticed his three friends all sound asleep on their respective beds. Realising it was another one of his nightmares, Vegeta slowly lied back down onto his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. He did not know why the memories of his past still haunted him. He thought that he had suppressed all the terrible emotions but the dreams appeared as vividly as ever. It was as if he was reliving the moment.

Vegeta scowled as he began tugging at his hair in frustration. He thought that when he packed his things and moved back to Tokyo, he could face his demons and moved on.

But instead, he found himself running further away.

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**A/N:** So once again the chapter ends with Vegeta's scary nightmare. So now we learn that there are in fact TWO bracelets that are identical. How does it relate to Vegeta's reason for leaving Tokyo? And how does it link back to Vegeta and Bulma's love?

You'll only have to wait and find out!!

Please be a nice reader and write me a review!!!! I love getting feedback from people!!!

Coming up next chapter: How does Vegeta really feel about Bulma? Will he show his true emotions when Bulma and Yamcha grow closer?


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